The FA Hotel
by Cpn Game
Summary: A crossover of HUGE proportions.
1. Interdimensional Progress Goes Boom

Hey, this is Captain Game, co-author of the fic you're preparing to read! Just to make sure you know, this fic is based _heavily_ in concepts appealing to F.A.s. If you don't know what that is... you should probably go read something else, I'll leave it at that. Read my profile if you want to know more, but for your own sake, read it with an open mind.

This is going to be a LOOOOONG fic, FYI - one encompassing many different characters from many different "worlds" doing many different things. You're in for one HELL of a ride, lemme tell you that. :3

Steel and I have spent a lot of time on this story, and we hope you enjoy reading it every bit as much as we enjoyed writing it - granted, that's a pretty high bar to set.

Legal Disclaimer: Steel and Game are our creations, and therefore our property. Everyone else belongs to one company or another.

* * *

The story of the F.A. Hotel begins in a poorly lit room – not the sort you'd imagine for a resort at all. It had an appearance like an abandoned laboratory or something of a similar nature. Sitting in one corner was on odd machine, having a round, flat area with steps going up to it and a number of odd looking controls and read-out screens. One of the nearby walls featured a few control panels and screens, along with a pair of computer terminals. The other wall near the machine also featured a few controls, but was easily dominated by screens, every last one of which was off.

The room had something of a war zone appearance, with panels removed from various machines, and tools, parts, and coverings littering the vast majority of the floor. The slightest sound caused an echo, so the sound of someone banging around inside one of the sections of machinery could clearly be heard.

"A machine that can access other dimensions…great idea, Game. Now if it would just stop breaking, everything would be fine!" complained a figure from beneath an odd array of machines and parts.

"Well, that's hardly my fault, Steel. It's not like anyone's ever tried using technology like this before." replied a second figure, who was sitting in a chair. This figure had short brown hair that was mostly hidden beneath a solid white baseball cap, and had blue eyes framed by the rectangular lenses of his glasses. He wore long, brown pants and a shirt that was solid white, featuring two rows of buttons and extending to his knees, looking very much like the clothing worn by high-class chefs.

Standing up, he snagged a clipboard that was resting on a nearby console. "Well, I'm gonna go check on the rest of this crazy place. You keep working here. Oh, and lemme know if you find my keys in there, huh?"

"You got it. What the…well, that's a fine kettle of fish." Game watched in shock as Steel tossed out a literal, old style kitchen kettle full of fish. Shaking his head, he left the room.

"The stuff we find in there is unreal… Now then…lessee, first stop, Chef Kawasaki…" Game walked down the hall and into the dining room, which led to the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he could hear the sound of pots and pans banging around. The dining room looked very much like what you'd find in an average hotel, except for being much bigger and having the tables spaced further apart than seemed necessary.

Several moogles and prinnies were running in and out of the kitchen. The moogles looked like solid white teddy bears with tiny wings on their backs and red pompom above their heads. The prinnies had a appearance like penguins, with peg-legs for feet. From inside the kitchen came the sound of someone whistling, this being Chef Kawasaki. The chef appeared fairly humanoid, but with no neck to separate his body and head, and no legs, and his skin was orange. He wore a white chef's hat and a white apron with a teal-colored pocket on the front.

"Hello in there." Game called out as he entered. The kitchen was also not anything spectacular in appearance, but very well designed, with shelves, pot racks, ovens, refrigerators, and other such necessities in all the right places.

"Whatever you want, it'll have to wai…MR. MANAGER, SIR!!" The Dream Land chef, who had been busy, turned to see his supervisor and dropped the pots in his hands in shock. "Just getting everything set up, sir!" he stated with renewed enthusiasm.

Looking at the mess of pots at the chef's feet, Game quietly asked, "Well, dropping stuff…doesn't…really help, does it?"

Kawasaki sweat-dropped and became embarrassed. "NO SIR! I'm so sorry, I'll have it all ready in no time!" He quickly began to scoop up the dropped pots, hurriedly resuming his preparations.

"Alright, then. And make sure you be careful with the ground fire flower, that stuff goes a long way…" His explanation, however, was cut short as one of the penguin-like prinnies tested his warning, and exploded from the overwhelming spiciness of the ingredient. "Never mind, just…go find a 1-up shroom or a phoenix down or something…"

"RIGHT AWAY, SIR!" With that, Kawasaki was off like a bullet, eager to please. As he left, another prinny entered the kitchen, looking at the charred mess caused by the explosion.

"D00d, what happened to Marty?" asked another prinny upon entering the kitchen.

Game shook his head again, and flipped to the next page on his clipboard. "Well, I guess I know how the prinnies are doing, so I guess I'll skip down to…"

He was interrupted again, this time by a moogle. "Kupo? Not again, that's the fourth prinny today, kupo!"

"Don't worry, they're used to it. In fact, I'm pretty sure someone used them to demolish the old Weight Watchers that used to be here." As the though of the old usage for the building entered his head, he shuddered in disgust. That would most certainly NOT be what it was used for now.

"Yeah, but if this keeps up, we're gonna have to install explosives warning signs, kupo!"

"Beware of sudden explosions, kupo!" a second moogle chimed in.

"Or we could just, you know, not throw 'em at stuff." Game suggested. Both moogles saluted, and Game took another look at the mess. "Well, clean the burn marks offa everything, ok?" The moogles nodded, and headed for the cleaning closet to get supplies for their task. "Let's see, what's next?" Putting the exploding penguins from his mind, Game headed out of the dining room and back into the hall. Game's mind was so centered on his clipboard, that he failed to notice the obstruction in his path, nearly tripping over it.

Looking down, he found his snag to be an adorable normal colored Chao. The much adored creature was about the same size as a child's stuffed toy, with a head almost as big as its body, tiny wings, and short arms and legs, with no fingers or toes, and a small pompom floating above a point on its head. "Aww! Hewwo there wittle guy!" he said with a happy smile on his face. The Chao looked up at him, smiling back and waving, then turning to crawl further down the hall. "Where are you going?" Game inquired, following the tiny creature as it crept along, talking to it as though it were a baby. Suddenly, the Chao stood up next to a cart used for room service, and began trying to push it.

"Aww, you wanna help! You're going to make some girl very happy. Come here you!" Snagging the Chao from the floor, Game began to tickle it a little, watching as it squirmed and smiled, its floating pompom changing to a heart.

"Fire in the hole!" shouted an unidentified voice, followed quickly by an explosion. Game gave his newfound buddy a worried glance.

"Maybe we should get you back to the Chao Garden, huh?" The tiny creature looked at him quizzically, then smiled as his pompom became a heart again, and it made a sound of happiness. "Yeah, I thought so. I'll come by and introduce you to your new friend later, ok? They are just going to eat you up! But let's get you back before a prinny trips on you."

He began to scan the walls near the floor while the Chao smiled and nodded. "Let's see, Steel said somethin' bout…oh, here we go." Having spotted what he was looking for, he knelt beside it. At first glance, it was nothing more than a vent, most likely for the AC/heater system. But this was a special vent, used for quite another purpose. Reaching out, Game knocked on it three times.

After a few seconds, what looked like a puddle of water came out of the vent. Once it was fully in the hallway, it began to alter its shape, revealing its true identity as Chaos, guardian god of the Chao. Though the creature had a somewhat human shape now, the extensions on the back of it's head and the fact that you could see through all of it, aside from what looked like a brain, would prevent you from confusing it as such. "Uh…hi." was all Game could think of as a hello. Being unable to speak, Chaos simply nodded. Remembering why he called the liquid creature out, he held out the Chao.

"The little guy got out, could you…? I have work to do." Chaos nodded again, reaching out and taking the chao. "Bye, bye, little chao! See you soon, ok?" he said, while smiling and waving to the chao. The chao waved back as Chaos began to plod off down the hall, heading for the chao garden. Watching him go, Game silently remarked "I'm glad he's not the waiter, poor things would starve at his speed." Flipping a page on his clipboard again, he resumed his previous activities.

"Ok, now just have to check the front desk, I think…" As he entered the front lobby, he saw the Lucario that was assigned to the front desk. The front area was, again, fairly typical, with a few things thrown up for decorations, but due to his nature, Lucario had insisted that the number of such items be kept limited.

As for Lucario himself, he stood like a human, at about the same height as well. His legs and hands were black, and his torso covered in tan fur, the rest of his was covered in blue fur. His face was shaped a bit like a dog's and had black rimming his eyes and traveling around to the back of his head, where two pairs of almost ear-like extensions hung, making it look as though he were wearing a mask.

Although the aura pokemon was standing, his eyes were shut, and a light blue mist of sorts was being emanated from him. Taking note of this, Game remarked, "Ah. Well, I know how much you hate being interrupted when you're slee-, erm, meditating, so I'll just leave you to it."

However, just as he turned to walk away, a voice responded in his head - "Sir, I would suggest that you come to this side of the counter for a moment." Despite having spoken, Lucario's eyes remained shut.

Game jumped a bit, his eyes growing wide. "That always freaks me out. Ok, coming." Lifting the piece of counter that allowed access, he stepped to the other side. Even as he did so, he could feel a vibration in the ground. Suddenly, with no warning, several saddle and shoe wearing dinos rushed past, each white on their underside and a solid color on their back, though each was a different color, and each wore different colored shoes. It looked as though they were racing one another. As the dust from their running cleared, Game realized that if he hadn't followed Lucario's suggestion, he'd probably be a pancake right now. He responded to this thought the only way he knew how. "…Eeep."

Without ever opening his eyes, Lucario smiled slightly and offered, "You may carry on sir. The halls are clear for the moment. I would also suggest that you shut the water off."

"I'll, um…go…do…that…" He quickly turned and rushed off, feeling a bit freaked out by Lucario's demonstration of his aura senses. As he walked down another hallway, he began to think things over a bit. "Ok, I should probably go do something about those yoshis before they hit one of the prinnies…Lucario woulda told me if that was gonna happen, right?"

Even as he walked, he noticed the pool room. It was designed with a painted landscape on the walls that mimicked the appearance of the beach, and the pool itself featured a slide, a diving board, and was deeper at the end with the board. There were also racks for towels and clothes, and small lockers for any other items, though they featured no locks. Next to those were a few small booths for guest to use for changing. However, what really got his attention was a large hole beside the pool that he didn't remember being there before. His eyes widened as a million possibilities raced through his mind.

"Just keep walking, Captain, just keep walking…" But his advice came too late. He could hear the sound of someone chanting 'dig a hole, dig a hole, dig a hole' over and over again, but it was quickly interrupted by the sound of a pipe rupturing. Water began to pour out of the hole like a geyser, and amongst the fluid was a tall guy wearing dirty blue jeans, a green jacket, with no discernable chin and having only one eyebrow.

"HEY, I FOUND IT!!"

"ED?! Dear god, if YOU'RE here, than that means…EDDY! Where are you hiding? Get out here right now!"

Finally managing to get out of the torrent of water, a dripping wet Ed-boy walked over and smiled. "Um, mister man, sir, it's only me. I was told to dig cause I'm a woodpecker…cept with dirt!"

"Oh. Well, that's one headache out of the way…but then, who told you to…never mind, I'm not sure I wanna know."

"The other mister man. He said if I found the leak I could have all the buttered toast I can carry. BUTTERED TOAST!!" The brainless Ed began to excitedly jump about at the thought of so much toast.

"Oh, ok…wait, is that the old leak or a new one?" Ed stopped short, and turned back and forth, looking between the still-rushing water and Game. Finally, he gave a happy grin and shrugged.

"J-just…keep your nose clean, ok? I'm up to my neck in problems as it is…"

"Can do!" Ed confirmed, giving a salute. "Dig a hole, dig a hole, dig a hole…"

Game began to head down the hall again, flipping through his papers. "Ok, let's see…cook, check. Exploding waiters, check. Cute alien life-form pets, check. Creepy meditating front deskman, check. Lump, check. Yoshis…" His train of thought was cut short as the ground began to vibrate again. He gulped, fearing what might be coming.

"Oh, NOW what? …Yoshi? Please tell me you're not gonna come tearing through here again…I have back problems already, see, and…" his words ended as the full rainbow of colored yoshis rounded a corner. It was hard to tell if it was a race or a stampede, but the one thing that was certain was that they were all headed right for him. "Umm…! YOSHI! Alayoshi, yoshi-yaboo…!" As he shouted the odd language, he silently prayed 'Please tell me I'm not rusty in this, I'm too young to die…'

The yoshis continued to barrel toward him - it was a good guess to say he had maybe ten seconds left before he'd be trampled. "YOSHI! YOSHI WA-YOSHI!" He tried again: 'STOP! STOP THIS MINUTE!' Now, with maybe only five seconds left, and the yoshis still coming full-force, he offered a quiet "…yosh?" - '…please?'

Having come to the decision that life would soon end for him, Game closed his eyes and braced himself. The sounds of the yoshis' running stopped suddenly, he slowly dared to open his eyes and look. Every one of the yoshis had stopped, and the green yoshi, who was in the front of the pack, had his nose almost up against Game. All of them were smiling, and several looked as though they were laughing.

"YOSHI! YOSHIYOSHWAWHO-YOSH!" shouted a now very upset Captain Game, the rough translation being 'NOT FUNNY! NOT FUNNY AT ALL, GUYS!' But the yoshis all continued to laugh, some laughing so hard that they flipped onto their backs. Game fought back his anger as best he could. "Screw this. Yosh! Yoshi-yosh-wa-boo. Yosh, yoshi?" (Ok, you had your laugh. Can you guys calm down a little before someone becomes a hallway pizza?)

Suddenly, every yoshi stopped laughing and turned to him, asking in unison, "YOSHI?!" (PIZZA?!)

'Ok, patience running thin…' thought Game as he responded with, "Yosh. Alayoshi, yosh?" (Yeah, pizza. Go ask Kawasaki, ok?)

"YO-YOSHI!!" (LET'S GO!!) shouted every yoshi as they turned around and began to dash off.

As they stormed off, Game sighed. "I love them to death, but they're just so scatter-brained." Suddenly hearing a slight whistling noise, he looked up just in time to see a green spotted egg just before it slammed into his face.

"Yosh-yosh." (I heard that.) replied a voice from down the hall.

"Maybe I'll just crawl back into bed for the day. I mean, I was ready to quit after Ed showed up, but this is just…ugh." He began to wipe the bits of eggshell off as he headed down the hall once more. "Since when were any of them bilingual anyway? Ugh. Guess I'll drag myself back upstairs."

As he approached the nearby staircase, he watched in horror as a prinny suddenly flew into view from it. He closed his eyes and waited for the boom, but when he heard nothing, he opened his eyes to see that the prinny had landed on a pillow being held by two moogles. "Famfrit bless you two." he offered as he noticed the scorch marks of multiple explosions around the spot where they had caught the prinny. Both moogles nodded and gave a happy kupo in response. "What's wrong with you guys today, anyway? Honestly, they're called your feet, watch out for 'em."

"Urgh…will do, d00d-sir…I need a nap…"

Rolling his eyes, Game turned and headed up to the next level, entering the first room he came across. Walking in, he took a look at what was a very simple…and very empty…room. No bed, no TV, no couch…no nothing.

"Let's see, we'll design these based on what the girls are like." Reaching behind him, his hand entered a backpack that was shaped like a block and marked on four sides with a question mark. He pulled out an item that was about the right size for a sword, but it looked more like a pen. "Hope this thing still works."

As he begin to plan his first move, he suddenly heard the sound of the shower running, even though all the rooms should be empty of guests for now. "Oh yeah, I forgot, the water's still on…" He headed for the bathroom, absentmindedly dragging the over-sized stylus behind him, drawing a line. As he began to reach for the knob, he noticed the sound of singing coming from inside.

"Oh, now what? …Hello?" he asked as he opened the door, freezing upon doing so. Inside the shower was a grey rabbit, standing on two legs and washing in the water. Game remained stunned and silent for several seconds, during which time the rabbit happened to turn and see him. The rabbit quickly reacted like a girl, pulling the shower curtain over its torso and screaming.

Quickly slamming the door, Game shook his head in disbelief as he headed out of the room. Even as he did, he could just barely make out a voice in the bathroom saying "I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque."

"That's it, I'm gonna throttle him…STEEL!" Game furiously pounded his way back down the halls, not even noticing when he bumped a prinny on the stairs, causing it to explode. Arriving back at the control room, he threw the door open with a loud bang, not caring if it fell off its hinges from his actions.

"STEEL! What the hell are you doing? Ed's destroying the pipe work and I just found Bugs effing Bunny in the in the shower! Do you know how long it's gonna take to get the fur outta the drain? Do you?!"

Steel rolled out from under a part of the machinery on a creeper, allowing a good view of himself. He also had short brown hair and blue eyes, though he wore no hat or glasses. While Game wore professional-looking shoes, Steel wore white tennis shoes that had clearly seen better days, as indicated by the tears in them. He wore blue-jean shorts, and a black t-shirt that featured the words 'When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape' and having a picture of the item. Over this, he wore a blue vest that was left unzipped, allowing it to move freely.

Looking at his partner like he could care less, he replied, "Well excuse me, I'd like to see you do any better with fixing this confounded machine…and I hired Ed, FYI. Do you know anyone else that'll dig a hole for gravy?"

Game was losing all control of his temper, ready to come unglued in an instant. "Who's next, huh? Giga Bowser?! Why don't we just level the place, huh? Move over!"

Steel pushed himself aside, remaining on the creeper. "Be my guest. I'm gonna laugh so hard when you screw this up…"

Swiping the tools from his hands, Game angrily replied, "You know that ship Sora, Donald, and Goofy ride around in? The gummi ship? Wanna know who designed it? So shut up."

Steel shot a blank look, his eyes fully revealing his disbelief even before he could state it. "You're lying…"

"…Well, yes I am, but shut up anyway." He continued to mess around within the array of parts, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary – well, out of the ordinary for a machine designed to bring girls from other dimensions for fattening. "Ok, I think I mighta found the problem. See that thing? I think it was hitting against that thing and that other thing came out…"

Steel chuckled. In a voice that seemed to drip sarcasm, he offered, "Yeah, that explains everything…so, could you be a little MORE vague about 'the thing' and 'the other thing'?"

Game glared daggers at Steel. "Well, if you get the light out of my eye and back in the machine, maybe I can."

Steel sweat-dropped and gave a nervous laugh as he quickly repositioned his flashlight, allowing the machine's innards to be seen. Taking another look inside, Game found what he was looking for. "That…that gear, there, I think it came loose."

"So fix it, genius."

"Fine. You go have Lucario tell Bugs to go home. He's a furry, maybe Bugs'll listen to him."

"I got another idea…" Steel reached behind another machine, pulling out a double-barreled shotgun and a hunters cap. "It's wabbit season!"

"No." responded Game, his voice flat, certain, and unyielding.

"Please?"

"Things are going 'boom' around here enough, thank you."

Steel sighed in defeat, tossing the items aside. "Some fun you are. Fine, I'll have Lucario handle it, and while I'm at it I'll get Ed out of here. Happy now?"

Momentarily turning his attention away from his task, Game replied, "Ed can stay, as long as he doesn't break anything." After a few seconds of thinking his own words over, he couldn't help but to add, "There's a fool's gamble for you…"

Suddenly, from another room, a loud eruption was heard, most likely another pipe, followed by Ed's voice. "IT WASN'T ME, EDDY!!"

Grumbling, Game turned to Steel again. "Go bring the other two. They more or less balance out to harmless when they're in a group. Just don't let Eddy near anything he could sell, got it?"

"WAY ahead of you on that one. Be back soon!" he called as he hoped onto the transport pad, the device in the corner.

"And don't let him within 500 yards of this room, got it? The last thing we need is Eddy scamming entire dimensions." Steel shuddered at the very thought. Game continued, "'sides, Double D can help with the construction and stuff…just keep them all under tabs, got it?"

"I got it. Be right back." Flipping a switch, Steel vanished from the room as the machine created a contained rift in the fabric of space.

As he continued the slow work on the machine, Game rethought of everything he'd already seen so far today. "I mean, Bugs is funny and all, but where he goes, Yosemite and Elmer go, and we don't need our guests getting pumped full of buckshot…and then there's that damn coyote and his Acme crap…"

His rant came to a halt as the machine sparked, and when it did, as though on cue, he saw none other than Wile E. Coyote appear, looking panicked and holding a lit stick of TNT in his hand. Muttering under his breath, Game couldn't help but ridicule himself. "Hey Wile, I'd like you to meet my big mouth…"

Even as he began to try and decide what to do, the rift opened again, and out stepped Steel, A shot guy with three long hairs and wearing blue jeans and a yellow shirt with a red stripe, and a taller one, wearing purple pants, a red shirt, and a black sock, er, hat with two thin white stripes on his head. The shorter was Eddy, the taller was Double D, who was talking in his usual way. "I mean, the technology is astounding, and…is that a coyote with a stick of dynamite?"

Steel looked across the room, his eyes going wide. "DEAR LORD, IT'S GONNA BLOW!!"

"EVERYBODY HIT THE DECK!" added Eddy, diving behind a pile of parts. Thinking fast, Game flipped the portal back on and shoved Coyote through, just in time for everyone to watch the screen as the explosion took place. As the portal closed, everyone gave a sigh of relief.

As Eddy came back out into the open, Steel fished a box out of his pocket and offered it to him. "Here ya go, just like I promised. Now go find that lump of yours."

Eddy greedily snagged the box, a huge grin on his face. "Whoo-hoo! C'mon sock-head, we got WORK to do!" He turned and headed into the hall, grinning all the way to the proverbial bank.

Still looking terrified from seeing Coyote, Double D nervously turned to Steel. "It's too late for me to go home, isn't it?"

"Very."

"I was afraid of that…" Double D sighed as he turned to chase after his friend. "Eddy, be careful, we don't know what we could find in a place like…DEAR LORD, DINOSAURS!!!"

Game returned to his work on the machine, his face hidden from view as he did so. "They'll be fine, stuff like this happens to them in every episode…I mean, they've even gotten blown up and stuff, and… Let's just… move on." The whole time he was talking, he was also banging and thumping around in the machine, attempting to repair it.

"Hey, at least my bribe should keep Eddy happy." Steel interjected.

Game laughed. "The Eds can't hang on to anything they get for more than fifteen minutes, and you know it. I mean, any second now, a yoshi's gonna come through here with the box in his mouth…"

Steel's attention was grabbed as a yellow colored yoshi walked past the control room door, carrying the box in its mouth.

"Followed by a bruised short greedy kid…"

Eddy then rushed past the door, shouting, "THAT'S MINE! GET BACK HERE YOU DUMB LITTLE….THING!"

"Followed by Double D, who'll be going on about safety…"

Double D also hurried past the door, calling out, "It's not worth it, Eddy! We don't know what kind of diseases it could carry, or…"

Quickly spinning back around, and feeling a bit freaked out, Steel quickly cut his friend off. "Please just shut up, I get it already…" Suddenly, the yellow yoshi entered the room, dropping the box, which fell to the floor and opened to reveal a watch with C.G. engraved on it.

Game shrugged, not having seen the events that had just unfolded. "Just saying. …Hey, what's…" he noticed the opened box and revealed watch.

"Oh, snap!" exclaimed Steel, getting rather nervous, and sweat-dropping. But much to his surprise, Game just went back to working on the machine.

"I'm going to ignore it in the interest of stopping the madness. Just escort the Eds to wherever the hell you want them and let's get this machine fixed." Steel nodded, reaching out and snagging Eddy by the collar as he attempted to reclaim his lost loot.

"But the…but…" Eddy stuttered, still feeling confused by what all had just happened.

"I'll make it up to you with all the jawbreakers you can eat as soon as your work's done." Eddy's eyes went wide at the mere thought of so many jawbreakers, and he happily headed out again. Meanwhile, Double D entered, half an eggshell on his head, and looking rather traumatized.

"It…….ate…….me…" he slowly offered, shaking and looking ready to vomit.

"Oh, suck it up…" complained Eddy, thinking only of his soon-to-come rewards.

From somewhere off in the distance, the shouts of 'I GOT IT' and crashes could be heard. Steel gave Eddy a push down the hall. "Just follow that, you can't miss him. And here…" he paused to hand Double D a towel. "It happens to all of us, get used to it. Ok, off you both go."

As Double D left, he was still shaking and clutching the towel tightly, as though his life depended on it. "Intestinal germs, gingivitis, salmonella…"

Eddy rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You never stop, do you?"

Turning back into the control room, Steel shook his head with a slight smile. "I bet he doesn't. So, how's the machine coming?"

Game sighed, still being hidden by the machine he was working on. "Um, well, I've managed to put in some control passwords to keep stuff from just wandering in…"

"Like Wile E.?"

"Or Dr. Eggman, or Bowser, or Ganondorf, or anyone else that could be an issue."

Steel nodded. "This is a good plan. So, are the view-screens operating yet?"

"Not yet…just the Looney Toons, wanted to make sure no more random cartoon violence came in here…big mistake, while I was watching them, Tom & Jerry came through, and…"

Steel shrugged again. "A cat and a mouse. What harm could they be?"

Game finally pulled away from the machine, revealing his face to be covered in scratches, bruises, and bumps. "None, if the mouse didn't have the proportional strength of an ant. How does he lift baseball bats and rakes and such, anyway?"

Steel grimaced upon seeing Game's face. "I'm sorry I asked, and I have no idea. At least you didn't get the Fairly Oddparents or anything like that…"

Game's eyes got wide. "Don't even go there. I'm having enough problems with non-magical issues, thank you very much." As he returned to working, he quietly added, "'sides, babies bug me…"

Steel chuckled at his remark. "I see that." Talking to no one in particular, he silently wondered aloud, "I wonder if this is what it felt like at the hotel that hosted the after party for Smash Bros Brawl…"

Game didn't respond, though, as his own thoughts had begun to drift. 'Trixie's sorta cute though. Dammit, focus on the machine!'

Noticing Game's distracted state, Steel leaned over and waved his hand in front of Game's face. "Hello, alternate dimension to Captain Game…anyone there?"

Game quickly snapped out of it. "It just occurred to me that there's no real defense against magical wishes." The very though caused him to shudder in fear.

Steel smiled, snapping his fingers as he replied, "Not true. Tell 'em, H.P."

Game's eyes instantly turned into screaming alarms. "NO…god, no! Just…just send everyone that doesn't have to be here…dear god, you didn't SIGN anything, did you?"

A pixilated cloud appeared with the word PING written on it, then disappeared to reveal a very short man wearing a grey suit, with a grey, pointed hat and square wings. This was, of course, the Head Pixie. "Indeed. We have a magical contract that ensures your dimension can't be touched by fairies."

"That's great!" Game stated, plastering a fake smile onto his face. Leaning a bit closer to Steel, he quickly whispered, "So, why is he helping us? We're fun."

"I can hear you." commented the Head Pixie. "As per usual, all we ask are certain merchandising rights, a few measly royalties, and *cough*absolutecontroloffairyworld*cough*"

"…well, alright then, have a nice day!" Game gave a small sigh of relief as Head Pixie disappeared in another pixilated cloud.

"Ya just gotta know how to pay your cards. Though I doubt these H.P. mugs are gonna sell anytime soon." He gave one of the items a disgusted look.

Game growled slightly in annoyance. "Whatever. Anything else pointless and random we need to deal with before we get this show on the road?"

From way off in the distance, the sound of Double D's voice echoed down the hallways as he screamed, "DEAR LORD, ED, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"…nope, I think that's it." Steel responded.

"Uh huh, Eddy's probably chasing Ed around right now, that should keep them occupied for a bit, and I think I've almost got this thing fixed…"

"YAY! I'll throw the switch!" Over anxious, Steel quickly gripped the item. "Here we go!" He threw the switch into the on position, and watched excitedly. But only a couple of the screens came on, and they were still a bit dull. And a few of them fell off of their resting spots.

Steel took a moment to realize what all had happened. "O……k……well, partial function is better than no function, right? Hmm…I wonder if the emeralds are misaligned…"

"Emeralds?" Game inquired.

"You think this puppy tears into other dimensions on its own?! Takes some serious power to do that! So, I used the best power source I know of…the Chaos Emeralds!"

Game could feel his mind swimming in confusion. "But how did we get the Emeralds without using the machine?"

"Chaos."

"But how did we get HIM without…oh, never mind."

Steel took a closer look at the screens that had come on, hoping to see something of interest. "Trust me, some things are better not known…"

Game just shook his head as he got back under a part of the machine. "Well, I'm going to see what we can see from what we have. You go check the latest couple of projects, by now Double D has probably started making the blueprints."

Steel snagged the clipboard Game had set down upon reentering the room. "Right. I remember the mall and the Safari Zone, anything else?"

"Uh…hey, we got an arcade?"

Steel flipped through the papers on the clipboard. "Umm…not yet."

"Well, then get on it!"

"Right away, Captain!" With a mock salute, he quickly turned and hurried out into the hall. He began to flip through the pages again, talking to himself as he went. "Let's see here…Double D can handle designing the arcade, I just gotta decide where to put it. Hmm…ok, the Safari Zone is closest, I'll go there first."

It was just a little ways down one of the halls before he reached it, several trees and bushes and such, giving the area a feel of having an indoor jungle. It even featured a few blooming plants and ivy that was climbing up the walls. "Ok, stop one, Safari Zone, the one stop need for all things cute in the world of pokemon. Just who all we got in here, anyway. Let's see…Pichu, Elekid, Roselia, Buneary…we have a Riolu?!"

"You don't expect me to leave him alone, do you?"

Steel cried out in surprise, jumping almost all the way to the ceiling. Spinning around, he found the speaker to be Lucario. "How many times must I tell you: DO. NOT. SNEAK. UP. BEHIND. ME!"

"My apologies, every now and again I forget that not everyone is as aware as I am."

Steel silently growled to himself. "It might help if, every once in a while, you'd actually stop seeing everything through your aura power. Anyway, you were saying something about the Riolu?"

Lucario simply shrugged off the aura comment before continuing. "He's mine, you see. Sort of an…apprentice. He's a bit hyper, and the results of leaving him to his own devices would be disastrous."

Steel shuddered slightly. "Well, the prinnies and yoshis are disastrous enough. Speaking of, are the yoshis anywhere near here? I'm not anxious to get flattened…"

"They're currently asking the chef about pizza…I'd leave him alone for a while."

"Will do. Oh, before I forget, somewhere around here, we got Bugs Bunny. Would you please see to it that he's safely returned to the Looney dimension?"

The aura pokemon replied a look that clearly read 'you're kidding, right?' before heading down the hall, his aura senses having already located the unwelcome guest. Steel, satisfied that all was well here, began to leave, only to abruptly stop. "Wait…if he was here…who's watching the front desk? Not that it matters, we have no guests ye…MAGBY, NO! DON'T SPIT FIRE AT THE PRINNIES!!"

The baby flame pokemon turned around. It stood maybe two feet tall, tops, and was mostly red, but with a yellow mark on its stomach that was shaped like a flame, and its mouth looked a bit like a beak. As it looked at Steel, it suddenly burst into tears. "Mag! MAAaaaag…." Still crying, the baby pokemon turned and ran into one of the bushes.

"Man, I forget how emotional these little pokemon can get. I'll make sure to come give him a treat later. Now then, I guess I should go check on the mall next…on the way, I'll look in on the Eds…"

"Look out below!"

Steel's attention snapped upward. "Oh, snap!" He quickly dived to one side, barely missing the falling item. "What in the world…is that a tub full of gravy?"

Ed jumped down from somewhere higher up. Landing without a problem, he gave a goofy grin as he answered, "Yes it is, thank you very much…"

"Where's Double D?"

Suddenly, Eddy pulled himself out from under the tub, clearly in shock from being crushed. "No more waffles gramma, I'm full…"

Steel raised an eyebrow at Eddy's remark. "Ok, two out of three…seriously, though, where is Double D?"

Eddy shook his head hard, snapping out of his trance. "He left to go play video games or something, and made me baby-sit lumpy here."

Steel's eyes got so wide in disbelief, they were almost threatening to escape from their sockets. "Double D went to play video games?! I though he was the responsible one here…"

Eddy scoffed in annoyance. "He said something about video games. Like I was listening."

Steel placed a hand over his eyes, trying to calm himself. "Of course, the only words you can listen to are 'quarter' and 'jawbreaker'…"

"Jawbreaker?!" exclaimed Eddy, looking ready to explode from happiness.

"Even I am not that dumb, Mr. Steel." interjected Ed.

"Thank you for sharing that, Ed. Dare I ask where you got a tub full of gravy?"

"Uh…SEVEN! Do I win?" said Ed, a large smile on his face.

Steel slapped his hand into his face. "This is going nowhere fast. Ok, Eddy, keep Ed under control and I'll give you three jawbreakers later, deal?"

Eddy's eyes had a nuclear explosion effect at the thought of jawbreakers. "Deal! C'mon monobrow, let's go find a closet to lock you in."

As Eddy dragged Ed off, Steel sighed to himself. "What horrors have I unleashed? Moving on…Double D! Where are you?" As he went further down the hall, he began to make out the sound of mumbling that could only be Double D talking to himself. Rounding a corner, he found him working in the hall. He was working on a machine, using a blowtorch and wearing a wielders mask, and hadn't noticed Steel yet. "Um, Double D?" Steel walked up behind him and lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Yaah!" exclaimed Double D, jumping up a bit before turning around. "Oh, hello there…"

"Sorry, I was trying not to scare you. How are things going?"

Double D smiled. "Oh, quite well…I found this old Pac-Man machine at the dump. Honestly, the things people throw out…do they know how much this sort of thing costs? Just a little work, that's all."

Steel took a better look at the machine. "Sounds great, I was actually gonna ask you to build an arcade room, this'll fit in great!"

"Actually, the Captain already told me when I went to ask where to find some tools, but thank you anyways."

"Well, I'll let you get back to your work…but as soon as you're done, please go take care of Ed…"

Double D turned to face Steel again, looking a good deal worried. "What did he…never mind, I'm not sure I want to know…"

Steel scratched the back of his head. "All I know is, one second everything's fine, the next, I almost get hit with a falling tub full of gravy. …Come to think of it, where did that tub fall from, anyway?"

"The next floor?" Double D chuckled a bit at his suggestion. "I'll fix it as soon as I'm done here."

"Good. Oh, and how's the pool?"

"Don't ask…"

Steel grimaced a bit. "That bad? …Don't answer that. Ok, next up, the land of mask wearers and robot lego men…" commented Steel as he flipped to the next page on his clipboard.

Double D's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?!"

"Nothing you need to worry about. Keep up the good work."

As Steel turned and began to walk off, Double D slowly turned back to the machine. "Mask wearing robot men? Sounds like one of Ed's comics…"

Steel pulled out a pen and quickly jotted a few notes onto the current page. "Ok, let's see…I guess I'll mark the pool as closed for repairs…Game's gonna have my hide for that…time to go check on the mall." Rounding a few corners, he pushed open a pair of double doors that led into the still being worked on mall.

The current staff of the mall were all running around like crazy. Servbots were busy working, running about as fast as their little legs could carry them. There were also large numbers of Shy-Guys, and while a few of them were working, most were goofing off. Several had gotten into a shipment of stilts, and were walking around on them.

The servbots really did look like lego men, except for being two feet tall. They had blue bodies, with yellow, pincher like hands and yellow heads that look like they belonged in a building blocks set, had they been small enough. The Shy-Guys looked somewhat square-shaped, with shoed feet but no legs, stubby arms, and wearing masks. As Steel observed the ones on stilts, he felt his patience slight snap for a second.

"HEY! Those are for customers only…Yoshi's Island was a long time ago, no more Shy-Guys on stilts! You there, servbot, what's your number?" As the servbot turned to answer, a Shy-Guy walked up to Steel and dropped a phone book at his feet. "Ha, ha, very funny. Now, answer me."

"Um…17, Miss T-erm, Mr. Steel."

"Well, how are things coming in here so far?" Even though he asked, Steel wasn't completely sure he actually wanted the answer.

"Um, the Shy-Guys aren't helping much, but most of the framework is done."

"Good. I'd just work around the Shy-Guys; they won't be of much use until everything's up and running."

"I think one of the flying ones took 27."

Steel quickly looked up from the clipboard. "Aww, man, I like that guy! I'll make sure he gets back in one piece." Servbot 17 saluted and walked off. Switching his tone to sound like a military drill sergeant, he called out, "Servebots 10-13, I wanna see you right, and I wanna see you now!"

From amongst the crowd, two servbots come forward and saluted. "Ok, I see 10 and 11…where's 12 and 13?"

One of the servbots offered, "Um, 12's up in the rafters, and 13's…uh…"

"Who know what?" Steel interjected. "I'm not gonna ask. You two just keep an eye on the front doors, and do not…I repeat, DO NOT let any prinnies in here. The last thing we need is explosions in here, too."

The first servbot exclaimed, "Oh yeah, THAT'S what happened to 13…"

The second piped up as well. "He asked a prinny to bring him something, and…we didn't know…"

"Oh…OH! Poor guy…I'll see about having him rebuilt. Just make sure no more prinnies get in here, ok?"

"Yes, sir!" both servbots replied, marching over to their new post.

Steel flipped through his pages one last time as he walked back into the main section of the hotel. "Ok, I guess that's everything. Guess I'll go see how Game's doing." As he began to head back, he quietly mused to himself, "I wonder if we can connect to any of the other Megaman dimensions…"


	2. Heaven and Heaven?

Ed: All characters used belong to the Maggot Queen of Blargon 2. Thank you. :D

Game: ...he means "their respective owners". (sweatdrops)

* * *

Steel pushed the control room door open, finding Game sitting with his attention focused on one of the many screens. Without even bothering to turn around, he asked, "So, how is everything out there?"

Steel set the clipboard down on a nearby pile of parts. "Well, the pool's gonna be closed for repairs, and we've got a room somewhere missing a tub, but everything else is going good. You?"

"Look for yourself." As he spoke, Game gestured to the monitor he was watching.

Steel walked over, taking a closer look, surprised to see an actual image on the screen. "So, what am I looking at?"

Game leaned closer to the image, pointing at a part of it. "See that blonde girl in the white and blue?"

Steel's eyes widened as he glimpsed the aforementioned girl. "Hello cutie…" He shook his head hard, trying to stay focused. "You got a bio on her?"

Game turned to another screen. "Colette Brunel. The Chosen of Mana of Sylvarant. Possesses angelic powers, such as limited flight. And…she's the most innocent little thing you'll ever meet." Game smiled wide as he mentioned the last part.

"Looks like we have a winner!" In his excitement, Steel raised his hand, hitting one of the screens, causing it to flick on. Taking a quick look, he grinned. "Hey, what dimension is this? There's a girl there that looks a bit like Colette."

Game glanced at the monitor. "Hang on…her name's Flonne. She was sent to the Underworld to assassinate the overlord…really bad choice of operatives, by the way…but she grew attached and ultimately became a fallen angel. Harsh term, but you get the point."

Steel turned to face his partner, his expression seeming to be daring him in some way. "I call Flonne!" he shouted quickly.

"Well, ok. Colette's cute!"

"Save the ranking until AFTER they're nice and squishy…" His own words caused Steel to pause, drooling a little.

Game's mind was also drifting. "Mmm…I bet they'd like it. They look like the cuddling kinds…"

"Well, obviously, only one of us can be gone at a time, especially with how out-of-hand everything already is, so…who goes first?" Game suddenly became silent, his face going blank. "What?" Steel asked, seeing his reaction.

"Um…how do we decide?"

"Hmmm……I guess I'll let you go first."

Game nodded. "I dunno what I'm gonna say, though, I'm so nervous."

"Well, I've been checking this bio, seems to me she's not all that bright…shouldn't be too hard."

Game nodded again, walking over to the transport portal machine. "Ok, here I go…if you drop me in the middle of Mortal Combat or something, I swear…"

Steel quickly interjected, "Stop being such a baby. Here you go…" Reaching out, he flipped a switch on the machine, activating it.

Game watched as things kinda blacked out for a few seconds. As everything slowly cleared up, he found himself standing in the middle of the forest. 'Wait, Colette wasn't in a forest on the screen…' he thought. He began to ponder what the deal was when he felt a sudden, harsh breeze go by from behind him. Turning around, he found what looked like a giant, leathery nose. It suddenly lifted high into the air, and Game's eyes slowly dilated in fear as what was now revealed to be a huge T-rex threw its mouth open, roaring at him. "STEEEEEL!"

"MY BAD!!" Steel shouted over the machine's special intercom. Game watched in horror as the T-rex tried to bite down on him, things going black again just before the first tooth pierced him. After giving a heavy sigh of relief, he tightened his fist.

"Remind me to kill you…" he growled.

"I'll be sure NOT to remind you." Steel shot back. "Ok, this should be it." Things cleared again, this time revealing the field that had been on the screen earlier.

"Ok…where is the little angel?" Game began to look around, only to have his attention snagged by the sound of something hitting the ground. It turned out to be the very person he was looking for, having tripped over her own foot…not for the first time, either. Hurrying over to her, he nervously asked, "Are you ok?"

"Hmm?" Colette looked up, smiling as she saw Game. "Oh, yes, I'm fine…sorry if I startled you…"

"It's fine…umm…" Game slowly offered her a shaking hand in an attempt to assist her. She happily accepted it, and he pulled her up.

"Thank you very much. I haven't seen you before. My name's Colette. What's yours?"

"Um…Game. Nice to meet you!"

"Game?" she asked, giggling a bit. Game shifted a bit uncomfortably. 'Is she…making fun of me?' he wondered. But Colette laughed a bit as she added, "That's such a cute name!"

Game was a bit stunned by her words, but did his best to recover quickly. "Y-your name's cute, too!"

"Thank you. Um…you don't seem to have any weapons…it's dangerous out here without anything to protect yourself with…"

Game smiled, giving his question mark block backpack a pat. "I'm fine."

Colette eyed the item. "Oh, are you a traveling merchant?"

"Um…well, sort of!"

"Well, there's a House of Salvation near here. I'll take you there so you'll be safe!"

'Now's my chance.' "Umm…actually, I have a better place for you to stay…I run a hotel."

Colette tilted her head slightly. "A hotel? What's that?"

"Well, it's like an inn, but fancier…and bigger…you can live there, and have fun, and get lots of food…" As he mentioned the last thing, Game put on a warm grin.

"That sounds like fun!"

"Would you like to come? It's free."

"Really? Then I guess I could at least come see it."

Game's smile widened. "We'd love to have you." 'Really, we would…' he added in his mind.

She smiled back. "Ok! Which way is it?"

Game felt his nervousness hit him full force again, but he forced it back. "Um…just take my hand a minute…"

"Alright…" She placed her hand in his, smiling in a way that was making it nearly impossible for Game to focus.

'Must…not…blush…' he thought, fighting the urge to do so. "Ok, Steel!"

As everything begin to fade out again, Steel's voice came over the intercom. "Three…two…one…touchdown!"

As soon as Colette found herself in the control room, her eyes went wide and she began to look around in awe. "Here we are!" declared Game, happy to be back in one piece.

"Wow, this is amazing!" She began to walk down the steps, but tripped along the way, causing a piece of the machine to spark a bit.

Game quickly helped her up. "I-it's ok…" he offered.

Steel couldn't keep from giving a tiny growl as he examined the read-out screens. "Yeah, but the machine's not…I'm gonna have to fix that before I can go…" He finished with a sigh.

Colette blushed a little from embarrassment. "I-I'm so sorry!"

Game quickly countered Steel's upset remark. "I-it's ok, we can fix it."

"But still…I'm sorry."

"It's ok. Um, I should probably get a room set up for you…"

Steel turned and nodded. "Yeah, go ahead and get her signed in and settled down, I'll work on the machine…"

"Alright then, come on." Game led Colette out into the hallway, where she followed with her eyes wide. "We - erm, you're going to have a lot of fun here, Colette." She didn't respond, looking about at everything anxiously, and Game chuckled a little. "I know. I don't even know where to start showing you around…guess I should take you to the front desk…"

Colette turned her attention back to him. "Front desk?" But her question was cut off as a teal colored yoshi came around the corner. Her eyes went wide, sparkling a bit. "OH, IT'S SO CUTE!!" She gave the yoshi a happy hug, and it licked her cheek.

Game explained, "That's called a yoshi. If you're nice to them, they let you ride them." Turning to the creature, he softy whispered to it. (No funny ideas, got it?) The yoshi gave him a sideways glance that seemed to say 'who, me?'

Colette looked at the yoshi's saddle with a bit of nervousness. "Do you think he'll let me on?"

"Um, I think so."

Colette slowly climbed onto the saddle. The yoshi shifted a bit to get her on properly, then began to follow Game down the hall. "He's so cute! This is so much fun!" she exclaimed.

The yoshi appeared a bit annoyed as it spoke in its native tongue, (I'm a girl…)

Not wanting any fights or such to break out, Game quickly mentioned, "I-it's a girl, Colette."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well then, she's so cute!"

(That's better.) The yoshi gave a happy smile of its own.

"Come on. I have to show you around! We're going to love having you here…and it's almost dinner time!"

"But first we have to go to the 'front desk', right?"

"Right! Have to know who's here."

(I'm gonna get a treat for this, right?) the yoshi inquired.

(Of course) Game replied. The three rounded a corner to find themselves in the lobby. Upon seeing Lucario, Colette's eyes lit up, and before anyone could stop her, she practically flew out of the yoshi's saddle and over the counter, glomping the aura pokemon and hugging him tightly. A few papers were knocked out of place by her actions.

Game nervously mentioned, "Uh…C-Colette? Lucario's kinda the quiet type…"

"But his tail is so cute!" she began to nuzzle her cheek against him.

"Kindly release me…" Lucario requested.

"Oh, alright…" she let go and looked up at him. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, he's just a little uptight." Game explained, while Lucario returned to his meditation pose.

Colette began to return to the other side of the counter when she spotted Riolu. "Hey, who's that little guy?" she asked, pointing.

Without moving a muscle or opening his eyes, Lucario answered, "I called him…he is more…affectionate than I am, and he could use someone to practice his aura on."

Colette happily scooped Riolu up and hugged him. "Aw, he's like a little you! His tail is so cute!" Riolu gave a happy bark at her actions, glad to receive some attention.

Lucario quietly observed all this through his aura powers. 'She seems to have a bit of a strong personality…she should provide a good training dummy for his abilities…shouldn't be too hard to read.'

"Does he have a name?" she asked while petting the smaller pokemon.

"Riolu." Game informed her.

Colette rocked Riolu like a baby. "Hello Riolu, my name's Colette. We're gonna be such good friends, I just know it!" The young pokemon had no complaints, snuggling further into her arms.

'Youth…' Lucario softly mused to himself.

(Tell me about it…) the yoshi returned, having heard him.

Game tried to stifle his nervousness again. "So…um…you can bring him with you if you want, we've got a lot to see."

"Really? Thank you so much!" She gave Riolu another hug, and he gave a happy bark.

"…Oh, um…you need to just sign your name, here. Almost forgot." He handed her a pen, indicating toward the guest book. Colette accepted the pen and quickly wrote her name onto the blank page. 'Her handwriting is cute.' thought Game.

While Colette was signing, Lucario took a bit more in-depth look at her aura. 'Comes from a rather earthy land…she doesn't seem to have had any exposure to junk food, perhaps that could be important…'

The yoshi gave a sigh. (I gotta carry TWO riders now? One was enough…)

With Colette's sign-in complete, Game became anxious to move on. "Come on, let's go cu-um, Colette." He gave a quick mental sigh of relief for having caught his near mistake. Colette nodded and climbed back onto the yoshi, still holding Riolu. The saddle wearing dino didn't look too pleased, but followed along with no further complaints. "Ok, um…we have a pool, but it's closed for repairs right now…"

"A pool? What's that?"

"It's like an ocean, but much cleaner and less salty."

"That sounds like fun!"

Game smiled. "Do you like to swim, Colette?"

She giggled as she responded, "I love to swim!"

"Hee hee, me too." 'At least, if you do…' he added silently.

As the mini envoy trekked along, they passed a pair of busy moogles. Colette looked at them curiously. "What are those? They're cute!"

"They're moogles. They're kinda our bell-hops…they bring you stuff and… stuff."

"Wow. They're so cute, do you have lots of them?"

"Yeah. There's other stuff like them here, too."

"Really? Like what?" As if in answer to her question, a prinny stumbled into their path, looking ready to fall over. Game's eyes bulged out a bit as he rushed forward to prevent what would otherwise be a disaster.

After catching and stabilizing the prinny, he gave it a serious look. "No falling down around the guests, ok, um, d00d?"

The prinny saluted. "Sorry sir, d00d. Won't happen again." 'At least I hope not, d00d.'

Colette watched all this unfold in fascination, not really sure how to react to it just yet. Seeing her questioning glance, Game indicated to the creature. "This is a prinny. It's from the underworld."

"Underworld?" she asked uncertainly.

'Oop.' "Um, I'll explain later, ok?"

Colette nodded. "So, where are we going?"

Game gave it a quick thought. "Um…well, I'm going to save the chao garden as a surprise for later, ok?"

"Chao garden? That sounds like fun. What's a chao garden?"

Game smiled, deciding to tease a bit. "I can't tell you."

Colette clearly hadn't expected that answer. "Why not?"

"Because it's a surprise!"

"Surprise? I like surprises!"

Game chuckled. "You're going to love this, Colette! It's practically made for you!" She started to respond, but was cut off as she lost her balance and slid out of the yoshi's saddle, landing on the floor with a small thud. "A-are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just got so excited."

"I can understand. You'll love it here, I'm sure."

The yoshi took another look at Colette. (I'm not sure about carrying her if she can't stay on…)

"Let me just help you back up…"

"Thank you. I'm sorry."

Fighting the urge to blush once more, Game quickly stated, "Oh, it's not your fault at all…"

Colette gave a wide smile. "I'll try to do better."

'Maybe I'll tease her a little more…' "The chao garden has just the cutest little things in it…"

Colette's entire face beamed and her eyes twinkled as she asked, "Like what?"

"I'm not tell-ing!"

"Please? I like cute things!"

"You'll find out after dinner, ok?"

As if in response, her tummy growled a bit. "I guess I am feeling a little hungry."

"I was waiting so long for you to say that…" Game remarked, not really seeing it as a bad idea, she likely wouldn't catch on to what he meant.

"So, what's for dinner?"

"French toast!"

Colette tilted her head a bit to the side. "French toast? What's that?"

Game smiled happily. "You're going to love it here…you can have as much as you want!"

The yoshi was trembling a bit from these words. (Must…resist…urge…to…dash…for…food!)

Game continued, "But I think we have one more guest coming…and I think you'll love her, 'cause she's and angel too!"

"Another angel?" Colette's eyes were bright at the thought of meeting a fellow angel.

Not really thinking ahead, Game went on. "Well, she's a fallen angel. But she's really nice."

"Fallen angel?"

'Uh-oh…ok, how to explain this without scaring her…' "It's…sort of a cross between an angel and a devil."

"Devil?" The confusion in poor Colette's eyes was deepening.

"Well, devil's not really the right term…you'll love her, she's a lot like you, actually!"

Colette's look of confusion was quickly replaced by one of happiness. "Then we'll get along! We'll be friends!" Game smiled warmly, happy to see her back to normal.

"Look out below!" a voice from somewhere shouted.

"No, no, not now…" Game panicked. The yoshi, reacting quickly, shoved him to the side while jumping the other way, both just missing being caught up in the explosion as a prinny fell into the hall. After getting back up, Game sweat-dropped. "Flonne's used to this sort of thing, she'll help you with that." Game took a quick look at the copy of Colette's bio he'd snagged before leaving the control room. 'Apparently poor little Colette is a waif…she's listed as 16 and 96 pounds. Poor thing…'

Colette gave the prinny a concerned look. "That looked pretty, but is he alright?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Game replied, "He, um…will be."

"I hope so. He's cute!"

"Not nearly as cute as the chao, Colette." He smiled mischievously. 'She's kinda cute when she wants something.'

"Please can we go see them?" she asked, smiling cutely.

Game could feel himself have the light bulb effect. "Only if your eat a nice big dinner, ok?" He watched, his eyes full of hope.

Colette's smile widened. "Alright! I'll eat all my dinner, then I get to go see the cute chao!" She bounced a little in excitement.

(Does she ever stop saying 'cute'?) inquired the yoshi.

(I think it's cute.) responded Game, causing the yoshi to roll its eyes in annoyance. "We'll get your nice French toast ready. Promise me you'll eat a lot? We made it special…" he put on an innocent look.

"Of course! I can't let it be wasted."

Game had to concentrate hard to avoid blasting off like a rocket. "We're going to love having you, Colette." She giggled in response. "Alright, the yoshi will take you to the dinner table…we're going to get Flonne, ok?"

"Alright. Will I see you later?"

"Definitely…"

"I'm glad. Alright then, goodbye!" She waved as the yoshi began to head off without Game.

"Bye-bye!" Game called back, waving as well.

(Dinner-time…dinner-time) chanted the yoshi as it walked off.

"…Such an adorable thing…" Game sighed. Suddenly, even though he wasn't moving, he found himself nearly getting tripped.

"Coming through, clear the way, please!" A servbot rushed past, carrying something above its head.

"Huh, wha…"

"I have to hurry and get this tool to miss Tron, or she'll be angry…"

"Tron, she's…?"

But the servbot wasn't paying any attention to him anymore. "Gotta hurry, gotta hurry!"

"…Ok, looks like I've got a little mystery to solve…should probably meet with Steel first, though…I know!" Rushing up behind the servbot, he pulled out his stylus blade and quickly drew a tracker on the robot's back. The servbot was so preoccupied with his task that he didn't even notice. "Ok, good, I'll just draw a receiver…"

As he completed that task, he heard the sound of an explosion from somewhere else. "Either a prinny or Ed…or…" he paused to shudder. "Both."

"IT WASN'T ME, GUYS!"

"Aaaaand that means it WAS him, guys. …I guess I should go check, huh?" But he had no idea where the sound had come from, so he decided to go back to the control room, maybe the camera system could answer that question…assuming Steel couldn't.

As he returned to the control room, he found Steel relaxing in a chair, yet the sounds of banging could be heard in the machines. "Um…what's going…"

"That would be me." Game jumped a bit as a five inch tall being popped out of the nearby panel. It had grey skin, yellow eyes, and wore white with black clothes.

"UuuuuuuuuuuummSteel?"

Steel spun his seat around. "What? You never heard of Greymatter?"

"Uh…"

"Never mind. All you need to know is his IQ is through the roof, especially where machines are concerned."

Game shook off his confusion. "Well, alright then…I just came by to check on Flonne…"

"Not here yet. I need you at the controls to go get her. But the portal is working again."

"Ok, but before you go, um…I just heard Ed yell 'it wasn't me, guys'…and usually, when someone says that…"

Steel's eyes narrowed. "Are you CERTAIN you want to know? We are talking about Ed, after all…"

"Well, I have to fix whatever he broke, so…"

Steel sighed. "Let's just say…it's gonna take you awhile to clean the clog out of your toilet…"

Game tensed. "…MY toilet?!"

Steel shuddered. "If you think that sounds bad, then you DON'T wanna know what he did to mine…"

"…Let's…just move on. I don't really wanna know what Ed's doing in my toilet."

"No. No you do not. Anyway, ready to fire this thing up?" he asked, hopping out of his resting place.

"Um, shouldn't Greymatter get out of the machine first?"

Steel shook his head. "He's not in the portal part, he's working on getting the screens running."

"Ah. Ok then! I'll get right on that…"

Steel walked up onto the pad. "Beam me up, Scotty."

"…See, I was trying to avoid that."

Steel grinned. "I know. Why do you think I did it?"

"Well, let's just get this over with. You're headed for the underworld of Disgaea. Got your zombie repellant?"

Steel froze, and his eye twitched. "Zombie……repellant?"

"That's what I though. Well, happy trails!" Game threw the switch.

"WAIT!!" But it was too late to get off the pad, and Steel watched in horror as everything faded. "You're so dead!"

"Relax, she's alone anyway."

"I hope so. Just to be clear, if I become a zombie, your brain's gonna be the first one I eat." He folded his arms, silently grumbling to himself. "I hate zombies…hate 'em…" His eyes suddenly went wide. "He's just being spiteful…that's what this is all about isn't it? This is where you get your revenge for me accidentally sending you to Jurassic Park, right?!!"

"Doo-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo." was all he got in response.

"……Words can not express how much I'm hating you right now."

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you." Game teased.

"Just shut up and open the exit end of the portal, will ya?!"

"I did already, genius."

Steel turned and saw that Game's words were true. "Oh." After a long pause, he added, "I still hate you." as he stepped out of the rift. The sound of the raspberries came across the intercom. "Oh, no. You. Did. Not. Just. Do. That."

"Oh, just go already…"

"Fine, fine. Let's see…where is she?"

Game interrupted his thoughts with his own musings. "I wonder what would happen if I closed the portal while you were going through it?"

Steel could hear the sound of a siren in his mind. "You wouldn't dare…"

"I wasn't GONNA! Sheesh."

"Argh. Now where is the little fallen angel?"

"Well, from my profile, she's probably wasting time watching cartoons or something. She's a little bit of a couch potato."

Steel slowly looked around. "That's great…just one problem. I don't see any couches or T.V.s here…or potatoes, for that matter."

Over the intercom, and in the distance, a voice said, "Potatoes? Mashed potatoes are good with…"

"Ed, get lost!" shouted Game.

Something happened to snag Steel's attention about then. "Oh, I see a door over there. Maybe she's in there." Walking over to it, he knocked a few times, listening for a response.

"Five more minutes Laharl, I wanna watch my movie…!" shouted a voice from within.

"Um, it's not Laharl. I'm looking for someone named Flonne…" he called back.

"Huh?"

"Could you open the door, please?"

"…Alright. As long as you don't stand in front of the T.V., ok?"

"Sure." he replied as the door opened. On the other side was a blonde girl dressed in a white dress and white arm coverings, with red ribbons, and a red tail that ended in a heart shaped tip. But he barely had time to see her before she spun around and returned to the couch in the middle of the room.

Stepping inside, Steel inquired, "Would your name happen to be Flonne?"

"Yeah!" she replied, not bothering to look away from her T.V. "What's your name?"

"I'm Steelbeam, but please just call me Steel."

"Ok." Flonne snagged some popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. Clearly, she was completely engrossed in the movie she had playing, so much so that it didn't bother her at all that someone she had never seen before was standing in the room.

Steel slowly gave the room a sweeping glance, noting countless wrappers and containers that had once held popcorn or candy, and several movies were strewn about as well. As his gaze ended on the T.V., he struck upon an idea. Walking over to the back of the couch, he leaned onto it, watching the screen. "Wow, is that the original Godzilla movie?!"

Flonne gave a wide grin, but didn't turn around. "It took me forever to get, it's not even available in the underworld…" Her eyes were somewhere between starry and glazed over as she continued to watch.

"Yep, one of the better classics. Just one of titles in my own collection." Steel watched for a response, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Collection?"

"Yes. I have several different movie collections. One of them is nothing but monster movies…everything from this to things that only just hit the theaters!"

Amazingly, Flonne actually tore her gaze away from the screen as she excitedly asked, "L-like Prism Rangers XXVI Part Two – Betrayal?"

'Got you now…' Steel thought. "Yep, it should be ready to watch within a day or two. We actually have a private theater, too…" Steel watched as Flonne's eyes hit critical mass, his smile slowly spreading as he went on. "And of course, we have rooms for you to stay in, with big screen T.V.s, and we offer room service…which includes things like popcorn, with any toppings you want…"

"J-junk food?" Flonne began to tremble a bit in excitement.

"If you can name it, we can serve it."

"I love junk food…almost as much as I love love!"

'Um…o…k…' Steel quickly shook off his confusion. "Well, we've got it all…everything from store-bought chocolate bars to the kinds of desserts served in five-star restaurants. And of course, we'll leave a note for anyone while you're gone. They can come visit anytime…you never even have to come back if you don't want to!"

Flonne flipped herself around, sitting on her knees and leaning closer to Steel. "I get junk food and tokusatsu forever?"

'You are so mine now.' "Yep. And we have people whose job it is to make sure you have all the junk food you want, whenever you want it, and you can watch any movie you want, whenever you want."

Flonne slowly slid back down into an almost fetal position, drooling on herself. Steel walked around the couch and up behind her, wrapping his arms around her, cradling her slightly. Leaning close, he whispered into her ear, "Just think…all day long…you'd never even have to get out of bed…you can have someone bring you all the junk food you want…you can watch movies from when you wake up until you fall asleep again…"

"Couch potato paradise…" Flonne said dreamily.

"That's right. And we can go right now, if you want…"

Flonne almost jumped out of the embrace from her now nearly uncontainable excitement. "I c-can?" she squeaked.

"Sure. You wanna go, right? Just say the word, and I'll take you there."

Flonne's voice became high pitched and broken as she struggled to force out, "P-please?"

Steel smiled and stood up. "Nothing would make me happier. Hold onto me, alright?"

"Y-yes sir!" Flonne practically tackled Steel as she latched on, eager to see this place he'd spoken of.

"Ok Game, bring us back!"

"On it." Game responded, and everything began to fade. Flonne watched, cheering as though she were riding a roller coaster.

Steel smiled at her actions. "You're gonna have so much fun, I just know it. And we have a guest that I think you'll be good friends with…she's an angel!"

"Really?! Does she like monster movies? Why else would she be there?"

"Well, we have many things designed to attract many people. But she might like monster movies. You'll have to ask her when you meet…"

She clapped her hands together. "I'm so excited, I've never been so excited in my life!"

"You just think you're excited now. Trust me." Steel watched as Flonne gave him a look full of confusion, clearly unable to think of how things could get any better. "how much longer, Game? If you're gonna get revenge, at least do it when I'm not with a guest!"

"Door's open, ditz…"

"Shut up…" he growled as he walked out.

No sooner were they in the room than Flonne, arms still wrapped around Steel, asked, "Movies yet?"

"Very soon, I promise. We just have a couple of things to do so you can have the food and movies. Get you signed in, get some dinner…"

"Then movie?"

"Then movie." Steel sweat-dropped. 'Wow…she REALLY has movies on the brain…she's almost as simple as Colette seemed…'

"Thank you so much!" Flonne happily squeezed Steel, her excitement causing her to prevent him from breathing for a few seconds.

After regaining his ability to breathe, Steel turned to her. "Um…alright then…let's just get to the front desk so you can sign in, ok?"

"Ok! Do you have comfy couches, too?"

Steel began to fish for something from a pocket on the inside of his vest. "Of course. After all, what good is a T.V. without a couch?"

"None at all! You really speak my language, Steel."

Steel chuckled while switching his search to the pocket on the other side of his vest. 'I love knowing how to adapt. I am the borg…NO, NO MOVIE REFRENCES! Sheesh, she's got me doing the movie thing now. Aha!' Steel's thoughts came to a close as he pulled out a whistle shaped like a yoshi. "Would you like a ride?"

Flonne's eyes went wide. "I get to be a couch potato even when I'm walking around?"

"Sure! Watch this…" Steel gave the whistle a good blow, and seconds later a purple colored yoshi rushed up.

"Oooooh, it's so cute! I get to ride it?"

"Yep! That's what these guys are here for! Hop on!"

Smiling, Flonne happily climbed onto the yoshi's saddle. "Hi there!" she greeted her ride. "He reminds me of [insert long movie title here]"

Steel sighed. 'Sheesh. I love movies as much as the next guy, but…' "Well, let's get moving, shall we?"

As they began their way down the hall, Flonne looked around and asked, "So where's this other angel? I haven't talked to another angel in ages."

"Well, I would guess that right about now, she's eating her dinner. We'll take you there as soon as you're signed in. Ah, got another one for you, Lucario!" he called out as they entered the lobby.

'It can be difficult to maintain focus in such a place…' the aura pokemon mused to himself.

"Aww, it's kinda cute! …What is it?" Flonne sweat-dropped at her own question.

"My name is Lucario, I am an aura pokemon." Flonne's eyes went wide as she heard his voice. 'How easy it is to confuse those who have never seen a creature that can speak.' Amidst his thoughts, Lucario began to take a deeper look at Flonne's aura.

"Just sign here, ok?" Steel pointed to the page, which had one signature as of now.

"Ok!" Flonne picked up the pen and began to write. "These are the weirdest demons I've ever met…"

'Demons?' Lucario silently questioned. 'I am no demon. Hmm…is it even possible for one to have such a craving for unhealthy foods? I doubt this one will be any trouble…'

"So now what?" she inquired, growing more anxious by the minute.

'I see…there is a match.' Lucario lifted a chao onto the counter. It was white with a floating halo in place of a pompom, tiny bat wings and a little devil tail. "This creature shall accompany you during your stay. It is called a chao."

Flonne scooped the companion up, hugging it. "Ooooooohhhh! It's so cute! Hewwo wittle guy! It looks kinda like me!"

Steel laughed a little. "Lucario's good at finding matches like that. Alright, we're done here, so we can go to dinner if you're ready."

"What's for dinner?"

"Well, I believe today is French toast day."

Flonne pouted a little. "Aww, I wanted ice cream."

Steel turned to her, almost forgetting to hide his shock. 'Is it really possible to crave junk food ALL the time?' "Well, if you ask Chef Kawasaki, I'm sure he'll fix you some."

"Can I have it on the French toast?" asked the fallen angel, as though such were perfectly normal.

This time, Steel avoided looking at her because he knew he couldn't hide the look of disbelief written all over his face. 'I think this one will be no problem. We probably won't even have to watch her, she'll fatten herself up! Yay!' "I'm sure he can do that. Just be sure to ask nicely."

"Ok! Thank you so much!"

After nodding to Flonne, Steel spoke in yoshi-speak, instructing the dino to take her to the dining room. As the yoshi walked off, Steel could tell that Flonne was really excited, even without being able to see her face. 'That girl is gonna almost be TOO easy. We shouldn't have to lift a finger for her…' Turning, he headed back to the control room.

As he approached it, he noticed a pile of several items in the hall, opposite the open door. Suddenly, A good-sized golden ring flew out the door and landed in the pile. His curiosity sparked, Steel rushed over to the door, ducking as a Pokedex flew out the door.

Inside, Game was rummaging through the machine. Pulling out a starman, he asked, "How'd that get in here?" and chucked it into the hall. Pulling out a maximum tomato, he asked, "How'd that get in here?" and chucked it as well.

"Whoa! Hey, watch where you're throwing stuff!"

But Steel's shout went unheard as Game somehow pulled out a pitfall. "How'd that get in here?" The item was also tossed toward the hall, but fell short of the pile, sliding a little ways and coming to a stop directly beneath Steel.

"……Oh……snap…" Steel cried out as he fell in, his shouts not heard by anyone.

Game pulled a Goomba out of the machine, and looked panicked. "How'd that get in here!?" He quickly tossed it away, sending it down the pitfall.

"Wha……OH, SN-YEEEEEEOOOOOUUUUUUCH!!" Steel came flying back up out of the pitfall, the Goomba having sunk its fangs into his rear. After landing inside the control room, he began to attempt to pry the mushroom shaped, armless creature off. "LET GO!!"

Game turned around. "…Oh, hey Steel."

Finally getting the Goomba to relinquish its grip, Steel tossed it back into the pitfall and turned around, ready to erupt. "Hey? HEY?! That's all ya got to say after sending me down that hole and tossing a Goomba in with me?!"

"…uh……yeah, hey!"

Steel muttered, "I'm so gonna kill you." as he stepped further in. "So, how are things in here?"

Game sighed as he turned back to the machine. "Well, we got a lot of garbage in here, must be inter-dimensional bilge or something."

Steel leaned in for a better look. "Let me see…how the heck did THIS get in here?" he asked, pulling out Kirby's warp star.

"Well, coupled with the tomato, he musta been having an in-flight meal. …don't think HE'S in here, though."

"Pyo!" a voice from within the machine exclaimed.

"Aaaaaand my big mouth kicks me in the ass yet again."

Steel yanked the pink, stubby limbed star warrior out of the machine. "Well, since he's here, we got two choices. Send him back, or make him change into cook Kirby and help Kawasaki…"

Game pondered the decision a moment. "But, what do we feed him to make him cook Kirby? I think there was a smash ball in there, but it's waaaaaaay in the back…"

"Amateur." Steel pulled out a frying pan.

Game sighed in slight annoyance. "Well, you go play with puffy here, I'm gonna work on this machine…" He pulled out a hammer, "How'd that get in here?" and threw it out the door, then pulled out a mettaur helmet, "How'd that get in here?"

But before he could throw it away, Steel looked ready to blast off like a rocket in excitement. "Hey, we get the classic Megaman dimension on this thing?" In his happiness, he dropped both the pan and Kirby, who sucked up the pan as he fell.

Game took another look at the helmet. "Well, it's just some random bilge, but yeah, must be at least a little connected…" He tried the helmet on, placing it over his white cap.

Steel remarked, "It somehow suits you. If we get a stable link to the classic Megaman dimension, I wanna know!" 'I just hope it's not a mistake…'

"Alright. …Come to think of it, one of those servbots mentioned Tron…"

"Well, duh. You think 41 two-foot-tall robot lego men are gonna keep themselves in line?"

Game shrugged. "Well, one of them was bringing her something…"

Steel nodded. "Yeah, some tool she needed for the building work in the mall…and something about repairing some of the servbots…"

"Huh. …But when'd she GET here, I mean, doesn't anyone tell me anything anymore?"

Steel snagged the clipboard and waved it in Game's face. "Well, do you check the papers, like you're supposed to?"

Game swatted the clipboard away. "Well, do we even get to fatten her?"

Steel paused. "I didn't even think about that…maybe…she probably could stand a bit of R/R after all those defeats against Megaman Voulnutt…"

"We'll have to check on that. She's got that spoiled princess thing going on, that's pretty cute…"

Steel shrugged as he set the clipboard down. "If you say so. Hey where did Kirby go?"

Game suddenly looked up. "Wait, does it really make sense to have a creature that inhales everything around when we're trying to get girls fat? He'll eat everything."

Steel's eyes went wide, twitching a tad. "I forgot about that!"

"Go catch the puffball."

"I'm on it!" Steel turned and was off like a flash.

"B-but what about the…rooms…?"

From out in the hallway, Steel called back, "You deal with them!"

"O…k…I feel kinda alone now…"

From within the machine, Greymatter slid out into view. "I may be short, but I'm still someone…"

"Oh yeah…umm…well, I'm gonna…"

Greymatter waved him in the direction of the door. "Go ahead, I'll keep working here." He reached in and pulled out a golden banana. "How'd this get in here?" With some difficulty, he heaved it over his head.

As Game left the room, he began to think his options over. "Let's see, which cutie angel should I focus on first? Well, from what I saw over the screen, Flonne seemed…pretty easy to read. I'll do hers." Just as he prepared to head down the hall, a servbot rushed past him, hopping onto the portal machine and disappearing.

Game scratched the back of his head nervously. "Ok, that is REALLY starting to bother me…" He watched as the servbot returned, rushing past again while carrying a tool above its head. "…Well, if Steel trusts 'em…" He suddenly realized it was the same servbot that he'd drawn the tracker on. "Meh, I'll watch him later, I have much cuter fish to fry."

Noticing something from the corner of his eye, he quickly slid to the side, just in time to avoid the pink sphere headed right at him. Kirby hit the wall and stayed there, hanging on with his feet and one of his hands. "HOLD STILL, YA LITTLE PINK PUFF!" shouted Steel as he dashed past, jumping after Kirby. In one quick motion, Kirby swung his frying pan like a tennis racket, smashing it against Steel's face, then jumped over him.

Steel spun around and leapt at the round warrior, only to land flat on his face as Kirby jumped to the side. "…I don't suppose you need some help?" asked Game.

"YES, PLEASE! HE TRIED TO COOK ME!!"

Game shook his head while pulling out his stylus blade. Getting behind Kirby as he landed, he drew a circle that became a hole, and Kirby fell in, though the sound of him flying back up could be heard. "Quick, do something."

"Like what?!" demanded Steel as he rose from the floor.

"Like…too late, he's back. Ok, fine, I'll take care of it…" Before Kirby could respond, Game drew another circle and a line running off it. Steel watched as the lines became a rope, and Game began to drag the now lassoed Kirby back into the control room.

"Cheap shot, Mr. stylus-blade master. Just when is mine gonna come in, anyway?"

"When you order one. Find your own damn superpower."

Steel growled and muttered, "I'll show you superpower." He reached over and flipped the portal back on.

"Seriously, am I the only one who does any work around here?"

"Fine." Steel wound up, and gave Kirby a swift, sharp kick that flung him into the portal, then shut it off. "There, happy now?"

Game didn't bother to answer the question. "Well, go check on our fatty-to-be angels, I'm going to get the rooms set up…"

Steel thought for a second. "They should be well into dinner by now. Wonder how much they'll eat?"

"Who knows? …Dammit, now I wanna go look."

"Ok, how about this? We'll BOTH go set up the rooms, then go check on them. Everyone wins!"

Game nodded. "Ok, let's get going…"

"Whose room you want?"

"Um, I was gonna do Flonne's."

Steel grabbed an item as they walked into the hall. "Ok, I'll do Colette's then. Race ya!" He rushed down the hall…going the wrong way, incidentally.

Game grinned in a slightly evil way, turning back to the room. "I wonder where he put that warp star?"

"YEEE—HAAAAAAAAW!!" shouted Steel as he came rushing back into view, riding said warp star. He quickly rode in a circle around Game before zipping off in the right direction this time.

"Hey, that was MY idea!"

*****************************************************************

The machine has begun to work, and the first guests have arrived! But what confusion will ensue when two angels from completely diffrent worlds meet, and what influence will the junk food loving Flonne have on Colette? Find out next chapter!


	3. Eds and Angels and Breadbugs, Oh My!

Breadbug: Glurp shhhlop glibble glorp ploopp glu-uuuu!

Game: He says "All characters used are the property of their respective owners". Oh, and he also says that Timmy's trapped in a well, we should probably do something about that, huh? ^.^;

* * *

Flonne stared happily at her plate full of French toast, topped with ice cream. "Mmmm…I can't believe I get to eat this!" She turned to find a place to sit, and noticed another blonde girl at one of the tables. Walking over, she took a seat beside her. "Hii! You must be the other angel."

Colette looked up from her second helping of French toast and smiled. "Yes, I'm an angel. My name's Colette."

"I'm Flonne! It's really nice to meet you!" The fallen angel turned her attention back to her plate. "They never let me eat like this at the Angel Academy…"

Colette's eyes filled with confusion. "Angel…Academy…?"

"Yeah, I never liked their lunches, but I loved the flowers there."

"I've never heard of the Angel Academy before. Is it fun?"

Flonne's eyes went wide as she stared at Colette. "Never heard of…wow, I've never heard of a rogue angel before!"

Colette tilted her head to one side. "Rogue angel?"

"I mean, if you've never even been to the Academy…wow, you must've had lots of fun not having to go to classes."

Colette went back to smiling at the mention of class. "Oh, I went to classes. Professor Raine knows so much about the world regeneration."

Now it was Flonne's turn to be confused. "World re…? I didn't know it needed to be generated in the first place."

"Of course! That's what the chosen does."

"Cho-sen? …Laharl usually chooses everything. Even the T.V. channel…"

Colette's smile vanished as she returned to the land of confusion. "T…V…?"

Flonne's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her head. "Y-you've never heard of T.V.?" Colette shook her head, and Flonne nearly passed out in disbelief. "Y-you poor thing! We have to get going, you've wasted so much time already…"

"Oh, but…Mr. Game said if I eat all my dinner, I could go see the chao garden. He said the chao are so cute!"

Flonne nodded. "They are, the furry guy at the front desk gave me one!"

Colette's eyes began to twinkle a bit. "Really?! May I see?" In response, the chao revealed itself from under the table. Flonne giggled a bit, playing with its tail. Riolu, not to be forgotten, jumped onto the table as well. "Oh, so cute!" exclaimed Colette, looking at the chao.

"It's a fallen angel chao, like me!"

"Fallen angel?"

Flonne looked up. "Yeah, the underworld's a lot more…" She trailed off as she spotted Riolu. "Aww, who are you?" she asked, grinning.

Riolu gave a happy bark, while Colette answered, "Oh, this is Riolu. The man at the front desk said he could stay with me. Isn't his tail cute?" As she asked, she began to pet the pokemon's tail.

Flonne smiled wide as she nodded. "I know! Ooh, the movies and junk food and these cute little…thingies! I wanna live here."

Colette stopped petting Riolu as she was overcome with confusion once more. "Movies? Junk food?"

Flonne's happy mood came to an abrupt halt. "You've never…I can't believe this! Movies, junk food, and love are the three most important things EVER!"

"Love is important. But I've never heard of 'movies' or 'junk food' before…"

Flonne brought a fist up to her heart, looking like she was taking a vow before an audience. "Well, I'll just have to be your couch potato teacher, then!"

"Couch potato?" Even as Colette asked, she looked down at Flonne's plate. "Oh, your food is…melting?"

Flonne sweat-dropped as she looked down at her food. "Oh! Hee hee. Here I am talking about junk food and I'm not even eating mine!"

Colette gave the plate a careful look. "This is junk food?"

"Yeah, sort of! It's not the best example, the good stuff is chips, and soda, and buttery popcorn…"

Colette could feel her head swimming in a sea of confusion. "Chips? Soda? Popcorn?"

"You're going to love them! The unhealthier, the better…mmm, and movies! Oh, just sitting around and watching movies is the best!"

Colette finally smiled again. "It sounds like fun! But I have to eat all my dinner first, I promised I would."

Flonne nodded in agreement. "I'm gonna have, like, four plates!"

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"Yeah! So? It tastes good, doesn't it?"

Colette eyed Flonne's plate again. "Yes, but…what is on yours? I've never seen food that melted like that before…"

Flonne's smile momentarily vanished. "You've never even heard of ice cream? Oh, we've got a lot of work to do, but I'll stick with you!"

"Ice cream?"

Flonne nodded. "It's so good, you'll have to have some…it's really good after a couple bottles of soda."

"Bottles? Why would you keep soda in a bottle? Is it a medicine?"

"It's a drink! It's so fizzy and sweet, I love it, and I know you will too!"

"What does fizzy mean?"

Flonne thought it over for a second before responding. "It kinda tickles your mouth when you drink it. I can't believe you've never had any before, I don't know if I could live without it!"

"Is it really that good? Usually, all we have to drink is water and coffee."

Flonne could feel her entire face blank out, and she needed a second before she was able to get her voice out. "…Ok, that's it, finish up eating already, I HAVE to show you!"

Colette gave a wide smile. "Alright!" She continued eating, having picked up her pace a bit.

"Eat faster, eat faster!"

Elsewhere, Game was still working on Flonne's room when Steel walked in. "Ok, Game, I got Colette's room finished! How are you coming along?"

"Just drawing a couch!" Even as he spoke, Game was swinging his stylus about, creating the room's furniture from thin air.

Steel chuckled. "Ah, yes. What good is a T.V. without a couch, eh?"

"I'm making it extra cushiony…at least, until her butt is cushion enough." At these words, Steel froze, beginning to drool a little. Game went on, "I bet she'll get a really big butt…she clearly spends a lot of time on it. And what about Colette?" After several seconds of not getting an answer, he turned to see Steel standing statue-still, a river-like flow of drool leaving his mouth…there was even a moogle rowing a boat on the stuff!

"Steel?" Game eyed his friend with concern, knowing how things often went when he started drooling like this. But his own mind was beginning to wander. "Yeah, I know Flonne's eventual big rear is…the…most beautiful thing I've ever pictured. I…I mean, I bet she'd jiggle so much…and waddle on those rare occasions she got up. And she'd be so soft…and…I mean, just to place one hand on…I bet it would be so…squishy and soft…she's an angel, I bet she'd have really nice skin…"

Game's rant prevented him from noticing as Steel's eyes displayed nuclear explosion effects, his drooling reaching a point that the moogle couldn't paddle fast enough and was swept out of the room. Game simply went on, "I wonder if she'd like being fed? I mean, I bet she could go through, like, 20 two-liters if she was big enough…she's just such a lazy little couch potato, isn't she? She'd love the feedee lifestyle…"

Steel finally moved, falling face first into his own drool. The feeling of the substance meeting his face finally snapped him back to reality. He quickly rose, shaking his face to get the stuff off. "What was I doing?"

His out of place question brought Game back around as well. "You were supposedly helping me finish."

Steel began to wring his shirt and vest, trying in vain to get all the drool out. "Oh, yeah, right. Well, what's left?"

"I already drew a T.V. stand, hold it still while I draw the T.V.."

"Gottcha." Steel gave up on his clothes and held the stand firmly, watching as Game began to draw the first line. "How big you planning on making it?"

Game smiled. "Huge. I want her to fall down in tears when she sees it…"

"This is a good plan."

"I'll say. I think I'll make it this tall, hold the line while I make a ladder." Steel nodded, switching his grip to the line. "We're really lucky to find her, she's going to be a GREAT influence on the others."

Steel nodded. "I get the feeling she may have already made a good impression on Colette. I mean, she doesn't seem too much like the type to question anything…"

Game's smile got a bit wider at the thought. "Yeah, I bet she's already stuffing herself! Hey, that reminds me, whatcha do with Colette's room?"

"Just the fairly standard stuff. Bed, couch, so on, all in white with blue. Oh, and lots of stuffed animals. She really has a thing with 'cute'."

"Oh, defiantly. Do you like all the pink and red I used for Flonne?"

Steel looked around the room. "It fits. Hopefully she'll like it, but then again, she'll probably see the couch and T.V. and never notice anything else in here…she may not even bother using the bed!"

"And I found some old movie cutouts! I'm gonna bring 'em in a minute…I think I might even give her a hot tub…"

"That's a great idea…assuming she's willing to get off the couch to get in it."

Game thought it over before replying, "Or maybe we'll give it to Colette?"

"That could work!"

Steel would have gone on, but he was interrupted by a voice out in the hall. "We've been accident free for one hour! Accident free for a whole…" Even as the voice spoke, Steel saw a prinny go slipping past the door, unable to remain balanced due to the slick saliva that had flown out into the hall. A loud explosion was heard, and the voice became depressed as it called out, "Never mind…"

Game noted the shouts and paused. "Never a dull moment, huh?"

Steel nodded. "Prinnies, eds, baby pokemon, chao, random stuff in the portal machine…"

In the control room, Greymatter threw an object aside and looked inside the device again. "WHAT THE?!"

"…How on earth COULD it be dull around here?"

Game shifted his weight to one foot. "Yeah, but I want it to be safe for the girls…"

"The safety measures should be just about complete. Besides, we shouldn't have to worry about Flonne around the prinnies, right? They are from the same dimension, aren't they?"

Game slowly nodded. "That's true…but still…"

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of Double D's voice reached them. "Fellas, I need some more-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…"

Steel ignored it as he sought to put Game's worries to rest. "Hey, we knew the risks when we hired 'em. And I, for one, would rather have to deal with them blowing up every here and again then have them used to level us like the old Weight Watchers…" Both he and Game shuddered at the same time. Steel quickly changed the subject. "Should we go check on the Eds?"

"Um…in case you didn't notice, I think Double D just fell down the…"

Steel's eyes widened. "Do you think it was that pitfall again?"

Game suddenly made a move for the door. "Let's go check on the Eds."

Steel quickly followed, sweat-dropping. "If it was, I hope he landed ON the goomba, or else…"

Game felt a shiver run down his spine. "Come on, let's go…" He gave a sigh as he added, "All I wanted was a cute little feedee to cuddle with…"

"In due time, I'm sure." Steel gave his friend a smile as he snagged the warp star and got back on it. "By the way…I'm keeping this thing." He then rushed off, heading for the control room. When he got there, he stopped just above the hole, and called down it, "Double D, you down there?"

Double D's voice echoed its way back up. "Honestly, I didn't believe an interdimensional exposition would be completely innocuous, but I DID think I'd be able to trust the floor!"

Steel sighed, and called back, "Just hold on a sec." He zipped into the control room, returning with a block shaped backpack of his own. Unlike Game's, this one was marked with exclamation marks. Reaching into it, he pulled out a rope and tossed it into the hole. "Here ya go!" 'Game's right, these things ARE convenient…'

Inside the pitfall, Double D grabbed the rope and began to climb back up…if you can call it climbing. "Unn…unh…oh, my hands…"

'Yeah, this'll take too long…' thought Steel. Keeping a firm grip on the rope, he dashed a short distance on the star, causing Double D to yell as he was yanked out of the hole.

"I'm going to have blisters…" Double D noted, looking his hands over.

"You didn't happen to see any creatures down there, did you?"

Double D looked up, eyes wide as he warily responded, "No…why would I see…"

"NEVER MIND!!" Steel interrupted. "So, where are Ed and Eddy?" He couldn't stop himself from shuddering as he mentioned their names.

Double D began to panic. "Oh my, I fear I've lost track of them…oh, I should've been paying attention, my projects just became so all-absorbing…"

"Don't worry about it, we'll find them. In the meantime, I need you to start building a theater."

Double D quickly forgot his problems at the request. "Oooh! A cultural retreat, how stimulating! I'll get right on it as soon as I finish with the last few cabinets for the arcade."

"Very good. See ya later!" Steel shot off down the hall again, still riding the warp star. "Now, if I were a con artist and a brainless gravy lover, where would I be?"

He failed to notice the prinny in his path until he heard, "Uhh…'scuse me, star d00d…"

"OH, SNAP!!" He swerved a bit, the prinny hopping to one side with a shout of 'D00D!', thankfully not exploding. Steel looked back. "I-I-it……missed? It didn't…" His words were cut off as he slammed into a wall. Without falling off it, he silently noted to himself, "I really gotta learn to watch where I'm flying…"

As he fell to the floor, the prinny he nearly hit walked over and looked at him. "You're gonna be really bummed if I tell you about the breadbugs in the pantry, aren't you d00d? …K, I'll wait 'til later."

The prinny spun and walked off before Steel could recompose himself. As soon as he did, he asked, "Breadbugs?! What's a breadbug?!"

Game, having come all this way on foot, finally caught up just in time to hear the question. "It's an annoying little pest from the Pikmin universe…it's a scavenger, it'll drag anything it can get into its little hole. And it looks kinda like a pig-in-a-blanket."

Steel's eyes went wide as he thought this information over. "We gotta get 'em outta here!"

"Pests?" Both Game and Steel turned to see Double D rush up, wearing a hard hat and holding a saw. He quickly added, "Not on my watch, I'll get the others and get right on it…I'll…I'll meet you there." The hat-wearing Ed turned about, beginning to mutter to himself. "Germs, diseases, contagions…pull yourself together Double D, you have to fight! …Ooh, I feel nauseous…"

As the two managers watched Double D, Steel remarked, "Eddy's right about one thing…"

"What's that?" inquired Game.

"He NEVER stops…"

During the time all these events were unfolding, Flonne and Colette were still hurrying their way through dinner. As Colette finished her last bite, she gave a cute smile. "Ok, I'm all done!"

Flonne gave a small burp. "Mmm…four plates and I'm ready to veg out!" She gave her swollen tummy a happy pat.

Kawasaki came out of the kitchen, holding two plates. "Girls, this stuff will spoil if it isn't eaten now, and it's almost gone. There's just enough for one more plate for each of you, think you can help me out?"

"Absolutely! Right, Colette?"

Colette nodded. "Of course! I promised I wouldn't let anything be wasted."

Kawasaki beamed. "Wonderful!" He set the plates down. Colette's was the same as her others, and Flonne's still had ice cream on it. This time, it also had sprinkles and nuts, as well.

Flonne's eyes went wide with joy. "Oh, thank you! Mmmm, this looks great!" She quickly dug in, anxious to finish it.

"You really like your junk food, huh?" asked Colette as she began to eat her own French toast.

Flonne looked up in the middle of chowing down. "Yeah! It's great, I can't wait to turn you into a couch potato. It's great, you'll see!"

"Would it be alright if I try a bite of yours?" Even as she asked, Colette couldn't help but wonder if there even WAS a bite left, Flonne's face was practically in her plate.

"Sure! You have to get all the junk food you can!" Colette reached over, doing her best to cut a bite, and tried it. Flonne raised he hands to her mouth in excitement, watching as Colette slowly chewed.

Colette's eyes snapped open, sparkling like stars. "It's delicious!"

Flonne reached over and gave her a hug. "It only gets better from here!"

"Really?"

"I haven't even told you about greasy fast food yet. C'mon, we'll talk in front of the T.V.!"

"Oh, but…I'm not quite finished with mine…"

"Then eat!" exclaimed Flonne. Colette nodded and went back to eating. To her, the speed she was doing so felt fast, but to Flonne, it felt like watching a snail run a marathon. "Oh, come on, EAT! The best way to enjoy junk food is to scarf it down!"

"Scarf it down?"

"Yeah!"

"Um…you mean, like you do?"

Flonne nodded. "Exactly! If you eat fast, you can eat more."

"Ok, I'll try." Colette resumed eating again, picking up a decent bit of speed this time. It wasn't as fast as Flonne ate, but certainly faster than she was going.

Flonne suddenly looked like a football fan watching the super bowl. "Yeah! Go on, eat it all!" Colette nodded, doing her best to go faster, the food nearly gone from her plate by now. "See? Isn't it great?"

Colette swallowed the last bite, and gave a loud burp, her face becoming flushed in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry! Please excuse me!"

Flonne giggled. "Ah, you're among friends, burp all you want!"

"Really? But isn't it rude? I always tried not to burp in front of Lloyd or Genis…"

"Well, I don't mind at all! 'Sides, it's impossible not to when you're drinking soda."

"Soda makes you burp?"

Flonne nodded. "Yeah! It can actually be kinda fun."

Colette stood, smiling. "Well, I'm ready to go!" Her tummy was bulging a bit, not much though, and mostly just because she'd never so much at one sitting before. It was enough to notice easily, pushing outward on her shirt.

Flonne rose from her seat as well. "I can't wait to see my room! I hope it has a big couch!" Her tummy had no hugely noticeable bulge, but then again, she was used to eating like this.

"I haven't seen my room, either."

"You're welcome in my room any time!" exclaimed Flonne, her smile wide.

"In that case, I'll go with you now. I want to see what a movie is!"

"We're gonna have so much fun, Colette. Come on!" Flonne snagged Colette's hand and practically dragged her off, failing to notice the group approaching the dining room as they left.

It was Game, Steel, and the Eds. Game seemed neutral towards the situation at hand, Steel was clearly a bit worried, Eddy was annoyed, Ed was…well, being Ed. And Double D was still going on…

"I have to say, as much as I detest invading rodents and insects, I'm rather excited about this 'breadbug'."

Eddy growled. "I'll never understand how I got roped into this…"

Double D paid him no mind. "It must have some fascinating adaptations to be as hardy a scavenger as you've identified it, Mr. Game."

Game sighed. "Hardy is a nice word for what these guys are…"

As they entered the kitchen, Kawasaki rushed up to them. "Oh good, you're here! They're in the panty, I kept it shut in the hopes they wouldn't get out…"

"But what about their mutant jam powers?" asked Ed.

"M-mutant jam powers?" asked Kawasaki, shaking a bit.

Ed nodded and continued. "They will utilize the evil bagel mothership and abduct our bacon for their breakfast experiments, and…"

Ed was interrupted by Eddy slapping him. "Don't we got enough problems without your comic book beliefs?"

Double D watched as one of the peg-legged exploding penguins from the underworld walked by. "I really don't think we're in a position to rule anything out right now, Eddy…"

Eddy growled in annoyance again. "Let's just get this over with…"

"Just get this over with? Eddy, this is a biological coup de grace! You really should take more appreciation for…"

"Actually," interjected Steel. "I agree with Eddy. Let's just get them outta here."

In an offended tone, Double D sighed and said, "Very well then…" Kawasaki threw open the pantry doors, jumping to one side. One of the breadbugs went by Double D, dragging a sausage along. Double D freaked out and jumped into Eddy's arms, à la Scooby Doo.

Steel gave the small creature a glance. "That's a breadbug? That's wack…"

Game nodded. "Yeah, well, leave 'em alone, and…"

"Th-they multiply?" guessed Double D.

Steel looked at the flock of bugs in the pantry. "Well then, we better take care of them before they REALLY become a problem."

Game sighed. "See, the thing about breadbugs is…" he paused, stomping on one of the creatures. But when he lifted his foot, it bounced right back up and went about its task. "They're worse than frickin' cockroaches!"

Steel nervously watched the stomped bug keep working like nothing happened to it. "So…how do you kill them?"

Meanwhile, Ed was freaking out. "They have activated the corn flake force-field, Eddy! What do we do? WHAT DO WE DO?"

"Shut up, Ed." replied Eddy, finally dumping Double D out of his arms.

"Good plan, Eddy!" offered Ed, giving a thumbs up. Eddy just slapped himself in the face.

Game, feeling it was safe to go on with interruption, finally answered Steel's question. "Well, I'm at a loss, really."

Double D, quickly standing back up, pulled out a notebook and pencil. "Not to worry, I'll form a hypothesis, and have the results to you within…" He trailed off as he began to mumble to himself.

Elsewhere, the two angels had finally found what they were looking for. Flonne smiled wide as she looked at the door. "Well, this is my room! I can't wait, I'm so excited! I wonder how many monster movies they gave me?" She opened the door, nearly passing out at the sight before her. "I-it's huuuge!"

Colette looked at the item that had drawn Flonne's attention. "What is that?"

"It's the best T.V. I've ever seen!"

"So, this is a T.V.? It doesn't look like much…it is big, though."

Flonne giggled. "That's 'cuz it's not on…" She took a moment to look around, admiring the hearts painted on the walls and the various cutouts all over the place.

Colette was also looking around. "Your room is really pretty!" She pointed at the cutouts. "What are these?"

"Well, this is Prism Ranger Red, and this is Dark Ninja Memorial, and…!"

Colette felt her head start spinning. "Prism Ranger? Dark Ninja Memorial?"

"Ooooh, you're about to find out! But we need the snacks first…"

"What kind of snacks?"

"C'mon silly, I already told you! Chips, soda, popcorn, maybe some candy…oh, and I need to pick a movie…"

Colette nodded and smiled. "Alright then. So, which movie?"

"I dunno, what do you l…oops," Flonne sweat-dropped. "That's right, I guess I'll have to pick myself."

"I'm so excited! I get to find out what a movie is and try all sorts of new foods…"

"And I get a new friend!" added Flonne.

"Yeah, we're friends!" Colette hugged her, and she hugged back.

"I'm gonna get the snacks, ok? You look through the movies!"

"Ok. But how do I know which one to pick?"

"Oh, I'll pick one, you just look, ok?"

"Alright!" Colette walked over the shelves full of movies, beginning to look through them, while Flonne went to find some junk food. Colette's eyes were full of curiosity and intrigue as she looked at each of the movies. Reaching for another, she found it wedged in tight, and unwilling to be removed. She gave it a hard tug, letting out a small shriek as the entire shelf came forward with it, dumping all the movies onto her.

Flonne rushed back over. "What happened?"

Colette popped out from the middle of the pile, looking very ashamed. "I'm sorry! I knocked it over!" But as she looked around, she was surprised to see no one there. Suddenly, Flonne also popped out of the middle of the pile.

She giggled as she said, "This is fun!"

Colette, however, was still feeling nervous about her mistake. "I'm sorry, it was stuck and…"

Flonne cut her off. "Why are you sorry? I'm already having a blast!"

"Really? I'm so happy!" Colette smiled in relief.

"C'mon, let's look! Dive, dive!" Flonne went back under the pile, doing her best to imitate a submarine. Colette giggled and followed her example. After several seconds, both popped back up, holding a movie in each hand. "I found Kamen Rider Kabuto and The Six Ultra Brothers vs. the Monster Army. What about you?"

Colette looked at the ones in her hands. "One that says 'Metal Heroes' and one that says 'Prism Rangers'…"

"I watched Prism Rangers last week. Let's watch Metal Heroes!"

"Alright!" Colette handed Flonne the box.

"Oh! I left the snacks on the table."

"I'll get them!" Colette started to hurry toward the pile of goodies, but tripped along the way.

"Aww. I'll help…" Flonne walked over and pulled Colette back onto her feet.

Colette blushed a little. "I'm sorry. That happens a lot…"

But Flonne was already giving her attention to the mountain of treats she'd found. "Just look at all this, it's sure making me feel better!"

Colette looked over the countless choices. "Well, it does look good. Um…what should I try first?"

Flonne began to dig through the mound. "Uuuummmmm……Oh, here's a chocolate bar." She passed the item to Colette. Colette looked it over for several seconds before finally attempting to take a bite…without removing the wrapper first. "Wow, I never tried eating it like that!" stated Flonne excitedly. "What's it like?"

Colette removed the item from her mouth. "To be honest, it tastes really bad…"

"Oh. Well, try eating it my way." Flonne reached over and opened the wrapper.

Colette began to stare at the candy again. "Is it like a banana?"

Flonne's eyes went wide with disbelief. "Fruit? No, junk food's nothing like fruit!"

"But it has to be peeled first." Colette pointed out, indicating to the wrapper.

"Well, I guess, but…just try it, you'll see what I mean then!"

Colette stared at the chocolate again, the slightest bit unwilling to stick it back in her mouth after what it tasted like last time. But she finally brought it up, taking a small bite and slowly chewing. Flonne's hands were up to her mouth in excitement, as she thought about the concept of her new couch potato angel friend.

Colette's eyes sprung open, shining so brilliantly, it was a wonder Flonne didn't need sunglasses, and she smiled from ear to ear. "WOW! It's so good! And really sweet, too! What's it called?"

Flonne shed some tears of joy as she wrapped her arms around Colette. "It's called chocolate."

"Chocolate…" Colette took a big bite off the bar, chewing and swallowing it. "I like chocolate! It's good!"

"And we get as much as we want!"

"Really?! Then I'd like some more, please!"

Flonne giggled. "I have to show you the other stuff first! We still have chips, and soda, and…"

While Flonne continued to teach Colette all about junk food, we move back to the kitchen to find Double D standing over a counter where he's strapped down a breadbug. He had a scalpel in one hand, which was shaking, and looked ready to pass out.

"This…this was never my favorite part of biology class…"

Steel looked a bit uneasy as well. "You're going to dissect it? What good'll that do us?"

"If we reveal its diet, perhaps we can find something to lure it away with, or perhaps I could analyze its neural system and concoct a paralyzing gas…"

"Ok, I think I've got it. I also think I'll just leave you to it. I'm not thrilled about bugs, and the whole scalpel thing freaks me out…I'm kinda squeamish about things like this…"

But before he could turn away, Double D closed his eyes and stabbed at the breadbug. To everyone's surprise, the blade just bounced off, leaving no mark behind. "Oh…my, they're much studier than I thought…elastic…under stomach…suggesting…"

While Double D began to go into another rant, Steel's attention was caught by a sound somewhat like a constant rhythm of thump-eek over and over again. "What was that?" Turning, he found Eddy bouncing one of the bugs against a wall as though it were a tennis ball.

Eddy's face suddenly filled with greed. "Hey, I've got an idea. We'll paint 'em like bouncy balls and sell 'em…and use the cash to buy jawbreakers!"

Double D snapped out of his thoughts and turned. "Eddy, you're going to hurt…" He paused, looking at the bug he'd tried to cut open. "Oh, who am I kidding?"

"Do you think these things CAN be hurt?" inquired Steel as he turned back around.

"Well, no organism can possess complete invulnerability, there must be something we can…"

Double D found himself cut off as Ed shouted, "I'M BEING ABDUCTED! Huh-huh-huh-huh…" As Ed laughed, he was being dragged along by a greater breadbug, which had him by the shoe.

Steel could feel his panic button get pushed. "Ok, gonna have to do something about that. Hang on, Ed!" Looking around franticly, he grabbed a bypassing prinny and tossed it at the greater breadbug. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!!"

Double D's eyes dilated as he also panicked. "WHAT ARE YOU…" But he didn't get to finish before the prinny exploded. The greater breadbug looked to be stunned, as it was now laying on the floor with its eyes rotating wildly. Double D looked at it, amazed. "Of course, a sudden shock would permeate its gelatinous exoskeleton!"

Steel looked at the oversized bug. "This looks like the part of a video game where you're supposed to jump or ground-pound the enemy in the stomach…"

Double D rolled his eyes. "Come now, stomping didn't work before, I sincerely doubt…"

"Waa-hoo!" a strange voice shouted. From out of nowhere, a somewhat plump man with a moustache appeared. He wore a red shirt, white gloves, overalls, and a red hat with an 'M' on it. He jumped onto the greater breadbug, flying high and disappearing. The bug squirmed a bit, then a purple ghost-looking thing rose from its body. There was no doubt it was dead.

"You were saying?" asked Steel.

"You're losin' your touch, sockhead." taunted Eddy.

Steel reached into his block backpack and removed a bomb bag. "Say hello to my little friends!" he cried as he pulled a bomb out, lighting it and tossing it up.

"DEAR LORD, NO!!" screamed Double D.

Steel turned and rushed out of the pantry. "TAKE COVER!"

"RUN BOYS, RUN!" shouted Eddy as he dove out of the pantry as well, followed by Double D. After several seconds of not hearing anything, they all began to come back into the open, wondering why the bomb hadn't exploded.

Steel eyed the pantry door nervously. "What the……um, wasn't there another of us?"

Suddenly, Ed walked out of the pantry. His cheek was puffed up, and a fuse was sticking out his ear. "What?" he asked, noting the way Steel and the other Eds were looking at him.

"Oh……snap…" Steel ducked and slapped a hand over his eyes. "I can't watch!" The room rocked as an explosion shook it. Steel slowly parted his fingers, daring to see if Ed was still there. Amazingly, and oddly, Ed was not only there, but didn't have a scratch on him, even though the room around him was devastated. Breadbugs began to rain down, having been tossed up by the explosion. "…O…k…I'm gonna worry about how that happened later. Right now, EVERYONE START JUMPING ON THE BREADBUGS!!"

As he leapt onto a nearby one, Double D observed as a little spirit drifted out of it. "An ectoplasmic manifestation? …Intriguing."

"Be intrigued later!" Steel shot back. "Like, when we aren't being overrun with bugs!" He jumped on another.

Double D pulled out a bottle. "Not now, I simply must examine this, it could very well be the secret to eternal youth, or…" he kept offering suggestions as he made a clumsy attempt to bottle the ghost.

Ed came down hard, immediately springing upward again as he quickly hopped from one bug to the next, all the while shouting, "I claim this kitchen in the name of Ed, protector of bacon!" Eddy was also enjoying himself, doing tricks in mid-air each time he jumped after another breadbug. Everything was going fine until Ed came down not on a bug, but on a rolling pin. "CALL A DOCTOR!"

"Got it!" cried Double D, proudly holding up his bottle. The next few things happened almost too quickly to follow. As Ed slipped on the rolling pin, he hit Eddy, while the rolling pin was sent flying, and crashed through the bottle. "M-my specimen!" Double D tried to grab it, only to be knocked over by Eddy. Meanwhile, the rolling pin bounced off a wall and into the back of Steel's head, knocking him over onto his face with a loud cry of pain.

Steel slowly raised his head just long enough for a single thought. "Ooooo……you know what, Double D? I think the most intriguing thing here is how the three of you manage to stay alive…" He then felt the world black out.

"My specimen…" commented a still in shock Double D.

"My back…" groaned Eddy.

"My hamburgers!" exclaimed Ed, smiling.

Eddy turned to the lump, clearly annoyed. "Shut up, Ed."

But where was Game when all of this was happening? Let's go to the control room and find out. Inside, Game was digging through the various piles, frantically looking for…something. "Come on, come on, I know we have at least one more of those things…"

"One more of what things?" asked Greymatter, finding it hard to concentrate with all the noise Game was making.

"The…box thing."

"You mean those blocks with the question and exclamation marks on them?"

Game sighed in frustration. "No, I mean the thing that goes in the… I-DON'T-KNOW what it is!"

"If you can't tell me what it is, I can't help you with it. And speaking of helping, weren't you supposed to be helping in the kitchen?"

"Well, someone's gotta work on this dumb thing, and god knows what's gonna come out of it next…"

As if in response, Greymatter pulled out a Bob-omb. "How'd that get in there?" he asked as he tossed it away. Game saw it land near his feet and panicked.

"I-I don't want it!" He threw it back.

After catching it, Greymatter heard it start ticking and freaked out as well. "AAAAA! I don't want it either!" He chucked it back at Game, who forced himself to react quickly, opening the portal and tossing the armed explosive in.

Within the world of the Eds, everything was peaceful, and Jimmy was out for a morning stroll. "Ah, what a beautiful day! The birds are singing, the grass is dewy…nothing could ruin this day!" His smile quickly vanished, however, as a round, black, ticking object with two white eyes landed in his upheld hands. He didn't even have time to question what it was before it exploded. "Sarah!" he shouted, in pain…

Back in the control room, Greymatter sighed in relief. "If you ask me, it's a miracle this thing hasn't self destructed or something."

"Here, here." agreed Game. "Well, we'll get the bugs worked out sooner or later…"

"Speaking of bugs…" Greymatter pointed at a security camera feed, showing the last few seconds of the kitchen, as Ed went out of control on the rolling pin.

After watching the chaos draw to a close, Game muttered, "You gotta wonder if this is worth it."

Greymatter nodded. "Tell me about it…"

In the meantime, back in Flonne's room, the two angels were enjoying the movie. Flonne was working her way through her junk food at her normal pace. The surprising thing was that Colette was tearing through everything FASTER than Flonne was! And her tummy was slowly working its way outward as she went. "This is all so tasty!" she exclaimed in between bites.

Flonne smiled. "Wow, and I though I liked junk food!"

Colette paused her eating for a second. "It's so good! And you did say the best way was to scarf it down, right?"

"Absolutely! Pass me the root beer!" Colette snagged two bottles, one being root beer, which she passed to Flonne. She didn't even bother to find out what the other was, she just started drinking it, her stomach bloating the tiniest bit more with each gulp. After a pause to burp, Flonne asked, "Whaddya think of the movie?"

"BURP!! Oh, excuse me! And the movie is amazing, it's the most wondrous thing I've ever seen!"

"Ooh, I love this part!" exclaimed Flonne as an explosion appeared on the screen. Colette saw it and let out a half happy, half scared shriek. "It's not gonna hurt you, silly!"

"Are you sure? It looks awfully real…"

"Doesn't it?! This is the best T.V. ever!"

Colette snagged another candy bar, unwrapping it and taking a huge bite out of it. "I can't believe I've never seen one before, it's so cool!"

Flonne eyed Colette's rate of consumption with a bit of concern. "You sure are eating a lot over there…I want some too, y'know."

"But didn't Mr. Game say we could get as much food as we wanted?"

"Well, yeah, but one of us has to g…" She was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. "I'll get it." she offered with a shrug. She opened the door to find a moogle standing there.

"Hello, kupo!"

Flonne glanced at the fuzzy creature with her face full of confusion. "My name's Flonne."

"I know, kupo! I'm here to show you how to use the phone, kupo!"

Flonne became a little agitated. "No, I'm FLONNE."

"I know, we keep a list of the guests up front, kupo."

Flonne sighed. "So why can't you get my name right?"

The moogle tilted its head. "I can get it right, kupo. Flonne, see, kupo?"

"No, I'm not Flonneseekupo. It's a cute name, though! Maybe I'll name the little chao Flonneseekupo…"

"They don't pay me enough for this, kupo. Anyway, let me show you the phone works, kupo." The moogle walked past Flonne and over to the object in question. "See this, kupo?"

Flonne nodded. "What is it?"

The moogle lifted the receiver, demonstrating how to hold it. "Hold it like this, kupo."

"Is this some kind of accessory? Can I have one in red?"

The moogle sighed. "No, kupo. It's a phone, kupo. You can use it to get help or to order food, kupo." Seeing that Flonne was easily confused on this, the moogle went on. "I'll show you how, kupo. Hold it like I showed you, kupo." Flonne accepted the receiver, mimicking the way the moogle held it. "Now, press the orange button, kupo."

Flonne pressed it, and a few seconds later, she heard the sound of Kawasaki's voice. "Kitchen, how may I help you?"

Flonne eyed the phone curiously. "There's a kitchen in here? Sweet!"

Not understanding exactly what she meant, the Dream Land chef replied, "Of course, you were here awhile ago. Did you want me to send up some food?"

Flonne's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Absolutely! We want donuts and soda and…ooh, some cake!"

"Any particular kind of cake?"

"Um…all of it!"

"A-all? Well, ok. Anything else?"

Flonne thought for a moment. "Just bring whatever else you got that's sweet!"

"…Um…o…k…it'll all be there in a few minutes!"

"Yay!" exclaimed the fallen angel as the phone went dead.

"Done, kupo?"

"I think so."

The moogle pointed at the phone's base. "Then just put it back the way it was when I came in, kupo." Flonne set the phone back into place. "You can use the phone whenever you want, kupo. If you want food, push the orange button, kupo. If you need anything else, push the blue button, kupo. That'll call the front desk, kupo. I'll leave you two alone now, kupo."

'I still wish he could get my name right…' Flonne thought to herself as the moogle left. She quickly put it out of her mind, though, jumping over the back of the couch. Colette didn't even notice her return, her eyes glued to the T.V. and shoveling food into her mouth. Her tummy had worked it's way out from under her shirt by now, and was taking up a good bit of her lap…not that she cared, in fact, she was using it for a table!

"You've really taken to being a couch potato, haven't you?" Flonne asked, smiling.

"I guess so. Movies and junk food are both really fun!"

Flonne nodded excitedly as she added, "And guess what? We never have to get up!" The door suddenly opened again, and several moogles and prinnies rushed in and out, leaving numerous carts loaded with food behind. "Chaaa! Look at it!" Reaching out, she grabbed a handful of chocolate cake.

Colette, however, had suddenly stopped eating altogether, and had placed her hands on her tummy. After all this time, it was finally making it clear to her that its limits had been reached…and then some. Flonne, however, took no notice of it at first, too busy eating the cake. "Oh, you have to try this, it's so chocolaty!"

Colette did her best to not look at the food Flonne offered. "Oh…no, I can't…ow…"

Flonne took a moment to look Colette over. "Wow, look at you! I've never seen anyone eat that much!" Flonne's eyes came to rest on Colette's tummy, not moving away. "I mean, wow, you're huge!"

Colette, however, wasn't feeling nearly so optimistic about her current situation. "It hurts…" she softly cried.

Flonne still hadn't looked away from Colette's stomach, but was listening to her. "I guess your tummy's a little full. Let's just lay down, then. I can eat all this myself!" She drooled just a little as she looked at the carts again.

Colette gave one of her fake giggles. "It's ok, I'm fine!" But the soft, pain-filled moan she couldn't stop from releasing right after saying that made the lie more than obvious.

"Nah, I know what it's like…"

"But, I don't want to bother you…"

Flonne paused, then smiled. "You don't have to bother me!" Reaching out again, she snagged the phone, then proceeded to lay down…using Colette's stuffed belly as a pillow, too. "This is comfy…" she stated.

Lucario's voice came over the phone. "Front desk. How may I assist you?"

"The furry guy said to call if we needed help…" began Flonne.

"Very well. What assistance do you require?"

"Colette's tummy hurts." explained Flonne.

"I could send a bellhop with something for an upset stomach. Is that acceptable?"

"As long as it helps…" As she spoke, Flonne had begun absentmindedly running a finger up and down Colette's belly. 'Wow, this feels kinda nice…' thought Colette.

Lucario finished with, "I will send him right away." Satisfied, Flonne chucked the phone, not really caring where it landed. Meanwhile, Colette was beginning to blush and become a bit flustered as Flonne continued to caress her tummy. Flonne was still watching the T.V., not aware of what she was doing.

"So, whaddya wanna do now? Your tummy hurt too much to watch the rest of video?" Colette tried to reply, but she was only able to get some stuttered half-words to come out. "Wouldja mind if I just stayed here? You're soft, and I wanna lay down."

"T-that's alright…" Colette managed to force out.

Flonne gave a wide smile. "Ok! I'll make up the favor later, ok? …So, what's your favorite part of the movie? I like that guy."

Without even thinking, Colette responded with, "I like the part where you started rubbing my tummy…"

"Huh?"

Colette's eyes widened as she realized her own words, and she quickly exclaimed, "Um, I mean, I really like him too!"

"Yeah!" agreed Flonne, removing her hand from Colette's stomach. "So, what are we gonna do tomorrow, angel friend?"

Colette quickly hid her disappointment from when Flonne stopped rubbing her. "I don't know. I didn't make any plans…"

The two watched as the fallen angel chao and Riolu played together, rolling about on the floor. "Hey, there's an idea!" exclaimed Flonne. "We could see the chao garden!" The two playful creatures both nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like fun!"

The door opened again, and a moogle entered, offering Colette a glass of water and a pill. Colette took the medicine, handing the empty glass back to the moogle, who left. "I hope that works! I know you wanna eat more." commented Flonne.

"And get my tummy rubbed again." added Colette, again without thinking first.

"Huh?"

"Uh, nothing! Don't worry about it."

Flonne shrugged. "Feel any better yet?" As she asked, she was continuing to eat the cake with her hands, getting both herself and Colette messier than they already were.

'I was already feeling better…' thought Colette. But she simply said, "Yeah, a little."

Flonne smiled while snuggling into Colette's stomach a bit. "Y'know, you're really soft!" she stated, as though it were a perfectly normal thing to say.

Colette blushed a little. "Thank you…I bet you're really soft, too."

"We're both gonna be soft with food like this! Not that it matters, right? All we need is this couch, that T.V., and each other."

Colette's blush deepened by quite a bit, and her voice rose in pitch a little, with a bit of a squeak. "Each…other?" Flonne nodded, and Colette forced her voice back to normal before going on. "Y-you're right! W-we're gonna have lots of fun together!"

Flonne grinned happily as she looked about. "So many movies, so many kinds of food…"

"And so much more…"

"Yeah! Hey, what time is it? I think it's about bed time…"

Colette looked at the window. "Well, it is dark outside, so it must be getting late."

"Ok, night!" Flonne pulled out a blanket, apparent planning to sleep where she was.

"Night? You mean you're gonna…"

"Sleep, yeah."

Colette shook her head. "N-no, I mean…you're gonna sleep…here…on…" she couldn't finish, and blushed a bit again.

Flonne paused for a second before realizing what Colette meant. "Oh, is it a problem?"

"Um, no, not at all. I was just surprised, that's all…"

"Why not? It's a great pillow!"

"I-I'm glad you l-like it…" said Colette, her voice squeaking a bit once more.

"Something up?"

"N-no, nothing!" Colette smiled nervously while giving a fake giggle.

"C'mon, if you can't trust another angel, who can you trust?"

"It's nothing, really. I'm fine!"

"Alright. Night, Colette!" Flonne rolled over a bit, getting comfortable.

'I feel so weird…' Colette thought to herself. 'Why does she make me feel this way? And why did it feel so good when she was rubbing my tummy?' She watched as Flonne finished getting cozy, blushing a bit more than she already was. 'This…this feels so nice. But why? Why am I all flustered like this? I barely even know her…'

Colette noticed Flonne had left the T.V. on. She spotted the remote within her reach, and remembered Flonne showing her how to turn the screen on and off, so she slowly took hold of it, hitting the power button. Setting the device to one side, she slowly thought over everything that had happened so far. She paid special attention to when she rethought about parts like when Flonne had starting running her finger along her very full belly.

'I guess…it must have felt good because my tummy hurt so much.' She smiled, making herself a bit more comfy in preparation to sleep as well. 'Yeah, I'm just all excited cause I'm in a new place, with lots to do, and a new friend. And when she was rubbing my tummy, if felt nice cause it was hurting.' She gave a big yawn, feeling ready to drift off to slumber-land. 'But still…these good feelings…they kinda remind me of the way I feel around Lloyd…but how could that be…?' Though she wanted to find an answer, she was unable to, as sleep claimed her.

*****************************************************************

The first two guest are well under way! But next chapter, a new guest arrives...and leaves Steel feeling like his whole world is being turned upside down. Who is it? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!


	4. On a Roll

Game pulled back from the panel he'd been working on. "Ok, I think we've got enough fixed on this thing to access a couple more sectors of the omniverse."

"Wonder if the omniverse has anything to do with the Omnitrix…" mused Greymatter.

"Huh. Well, doesn't 'omni' just mean all? I mean, it could just be a coincidence. Or it could be made of interdimensional matter, anyone's guess."

Greymatter started to respond when the door burst open. Eddy and Ed rushed in, nearly plowing Game over.

"COMIN' THROUGH!!" shouted Eddy.

"BAD FOR ED! BAD FOR ED!"

"What the Giygas?!" inquired Game, watching as the two huddled together in the corner.

He got his answer when Steel rushed in as well, carrying what looked like a tiny green tree. Both Eds screamed out in unison, "BROCCOLI!!"

Steel grinned. "I always wanted to do that!"

Game, however, was not amused. "What are you…gimme it. GIMME IT!" He snagged the vegetable Steel was holding, tugging on it. Steel saw no point in fighting for the edible item, and released it. This was the one thing Game hadn't counted on, and he stumbled back into another panel, knocking it open and causing countless Super Mario Bros turnips to pour out.

Steel looked at the piles of turnips, his eye twitching a bit. "Veggies…with faces…" He turned, screaming and trying to run off, only to find himself planting his face in a screen.

Meanwhile, seeing their chance – and several mutant turnips - , Eddy and Ed made a break for the door. "THE VEGGIES ARE ATTACKING, EDDY! RUN AWAY!"

"WAY AHEAD OF YOU, LUMPY!"

As the two dashed out, they shouted together, "THE VEGGIES HAVE GONE MAD!!!"

Game shoved a giant turnip off himself, slowly getting up, looking ready to destroy something…or someone. "Nice going, genius. Get up and get rid of these stupid things! It's your fault!"

"Soooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuute…" Steel kinda chanted, as though in a trance, his face still plastered to the screen.

Game snagged one of the veggies and tossed it hard at Steel, amazed when he didn't move at all, not even a flinch, when it hit squarely in his head. Game reached into his block, tossing an item at Steel. As he did, a text box appeared, with the words 'Captain Game used Smellingsalts!' on it. After a couple of seconds, the writing changed to 'It doesn't affect Steelbeam'.

Steel did finally move, though, his arm stretching across the room as he snagged Game and dragged over to him by the collar. "What's so all-absorbing that you couldn't get the effing turnip off…" His words were ended when Steel peeled his own face away from the screen and shoved Game's against it.

It was a security camera feed, the one coming from Flonne's room. On the screen, you could see the two sleeping on the couch, with Flonne laying on Colette's tummy. Game immediately understood. "O…oh my…ohhhhhhhh-wa!"

Steel drooled a little. "Tell me about it…"

"Aww, I can't believe this! Look how much Colette's eaten…and just look at Flonne!"

"Yeah, and look how cute they are together! Like two cute peas in a pod!"

"I wanna go rub one!" exclaimed Game.

"You're not the only one. Ohhhh man, what'd I give to lay on Colette's tummy like that!" Steel swooned a bit at his own thought.

"I wonder why she let her." Steel gave Game a questioning look, so Game went further, "Think about it a bit…"

"You mean about Colette letting Flonne lay on her? She won't admit problems, hates making others worry for anything, and doesn't think much of anything through. Any other questions?"

"That's all true, but you think there might be another reason?"

Steel's eyes went wide. "Wait…are you suggesting…Colette is…"

"Not necessarily. She might be, she might not. All I'm saying is…I think she's smiling just a little down there…the camera's a little cheap, but…"

"Actually, it's a new model, it just has problems…" Steel paused to look around the room. "Like so many other things. See, it's supposed to show things really clearly normally, but fuzz when anything 'inappropriate' is on screen…but the fuzz sensor is mis-calibrated."

"…Uh…huh. Well, either way…just so cute! Look at Flonne with her pillow!"

Greymatter slipped out of where he was working and looked at the two. "You guys are really devoted to this stuff, huh?"

Game nodded. "Yeah. Come on, look at them, they're so happy!"

Greymatter sighed. "To be honest, I'm not crazy for fat girls. But I'll still help with fixing the machine."

Game wasn't really paying attention, though. "I think Colette has stretch marks."

Steel nodded. "I would think so…I mean, look at her! How much do you think she ate?"

"A horse…so…perfectly ROUND!"

"And look how Flonne sinks into her…she must be really soft…" Steel began to drool again.

"I wonder how much Colette will gain…" Game questioned.

Steel took another look at the screen. "No clue, but if this is any indication, I'd estimate that she'd be immobile within a week!"

"And look how MESSY they are!" Game's already wide smile widened further.

"And how messy everything around them is. I see empty bags of chips, bottles of soda, half-eaten cakes, countless candy bar wrappers…how much of that popcorn did they eat?"

"Aww, look at all the soda Colette got on herself! And all that chocolate smeared on her face…she's such a little glutton!"

Steel chuckled. "Guess that's what happens when you pair a simple-minded girl with no junk food experience with a dedicated couch potato. I don't care how messy I'd get, I just wanna rub all over that cute little tummy of hers!"

"Colette's gonna have a huge belly, I can tell…maybe Flonne will use it as a bed. Or maybe just a seat, with the big butt she's gonna get." THAT was crossing the line, Steel heard Game's remark and went statue-still, drool beginning to flow from his mouth. And once again, Game was too busy to notice. "I can almost see the ripples of fat whenever Colette takes a step…or Flonne getting stuck in a double door because she's just so wide…"

Steel fell over again, but this time even landing in his own saliva wasn't enough to snap him out of it. And Game wasn't helping, he was too engrossed in continuing his thoughts. "Like an ocean of flab…Colette's belly…rippling whenever a crumb of junk food falls from her round, fat face…it'll…fall over her think thighs…just take up more and more room until she's a giant, angelic blob of softness…"

Steel began to twitch uncontrollably. Had someone come in right now, they'd likely think he was possessed or having a seizure or something. But Game still wasn't done. "Her love handles…mmm, bigger than most people…and Flonne. I bet that little devil tail of hers will get thicker along with the rest of her…"

While Game was talking and Steel was occupied on the ground, Greymatter observed what was going on with worry. He hopped onto Game's shoulder and slapped him, hoping to snap him out of it. Sadly, it didn't work. "I bet it would feel nice to have her wrap it around you…"

Greymatter watched in horror as the machine sparked, no doubt a result of the growing amount of drool on the floor. The sticky substance actually served as a conductor, carrying the charge along and shocking all three of the guys. But only Greymatter really noticed, quickly shaking the charred dust that resulted off himself, and jumping back to the floor, hurrying to a plug. Grabbing it, he began to pull, thinking he could shut the screen off and end all this before things got worse.

Despite being fried to a light crisp, Game's rant went on, strong as ever. "I mean, I bet she could take up two whole couches with her big butt…" Greymatter's grip slipped from the plug, and he went sliding on the saliva, bumping hard into Game's leg. Oddly enough, this is what finally snapped him out of it. "Wha…Steel, what happened?" He turned around, finding his friend laying on the floor, looking kinda like a zombie, and drooling like an opened floodgate. "Dude…get up, man…" When he got no response, he stomped and shouted, "Get up!"

Steel suddenly snapped back into the here and now, jumping back into a standing position. "I'm awake, I'm awake! Sheesh, what happened…my head hurts…"

"I sort of…overdid it with the description…" Game admitted.

"Oh, right…I remember now…"

Game looked down at the brainy alien by his foot. "What's happening?"

Greymatter slowly rose, sounding a bit dazed. "Right now, or in general?"

"Um…right now?"

Greymatter recomposed himself and responded, "Well, do you mean the being totally spaced out, the sea of drool, or the sparks the machine gave off, which probably means it now needs MORE work?"

Game pointed an accusing finger at Steel. "He was the one drooling."

Steel was quick to defend himself. "I can't help it! Some guys swoon, some get tongue-tied, some faint…I drool. Excuuuuuse me." He finished by crossing his arms.

Game turned back to the smaller being. "Well, what's the damage?"

Greymatter hopped into the machine and looked around. "Let's see…looks like all the wiring I was working on now needs to be replaced, and it might need a new fuse, but that's about it for the machine." He slid back out and surveyed the room. "But this is another problem. If it was just water, that wouldn't be so bad, but this…"

"I STILL blame him." Game pointed.

"And I STILL say it couldn't be helped!" Steel shot back. "In fact, if you think about it, it's your fault!"

"Oh, here we go…" sighed Game.

"Hey, face it. We both know I wouldn't have drooled so much if you weren't ranting about how cute those two are gonna be!"

"Well, excuse me for appreciating-"

Steel wasn't in a listening mood. "Appreciation is one thing…but honestly, some times I think it's a miracle when you STOP appreciating!"

"Oh, you liked it just as much as…OH, let's just fix the machine…"

Steel started to walk away, but halted abruptly and shuddered. When he saw Game throw him a questioning glance, he stated, "I sensed a great disturbance in the Force…as if several prinnies cried out at once, and then exploded…" As if in confirmation, the room rocked as a loud explosion was heard.

"I'm not cleaning it up." Game stated flatly.

"Me either. I'm gonna have my hands full with cleaning this room as is…"

"Well, someone has to go see what happened…"

Suddenly, Ed's voice reached them, getting closer as he talked. "But I just wanted to pet the pretty birdies, Eddy!"

"Oh, I'll give ya somethin' to pet, alright!" retorted Eddy. The two came rushing into the room, slipping on the drool, and sliding toward the machine.

"OH, SNAP!" shouted Steel as he dove out of their way. They slammed into different sections of the machinery, Ed getting his head stuck in one place and Eddy sliding into the fuselage, getting electrocuted as a result. Steel eyed this all nervously. "I don't think I wanna know what the damage is now. How about we just call it a day?"

Suddenly, a lifeless monitor clicked on, showing an image. "What's up with that screen?" asked Greymatter, pointing.

Game turned to see it better. "I think it's showing something…"

Steel walked over and took a careful look at the image. "That…that kinda looks like Dr. Light's lab!" He became excited as he spoke, suddenly grinning from ear to ear.

"Who?" asked Game.

Steel fell, anime-style, and quickly stood back up, his face having disbelief written all over it. "You've never heard of Dr. Light?! Builder of Megaman?!"

"Ummm…sure?"

"Liar…" growled Steel. He turned back to the view screen to see a red, robotic dog bound into the frame. "Hey! That's Rush, which means that IS Dr. Light's lab! Oh, look there…" He began to shake as he pointed to a humanoid figure that had just appeared on the frame as well. "…R…R-Roll…" His jaw dropped, a bit of drool escaping.

"STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!" shouted Game, not wanting anymore of the stuff on the floor, which was already completely covered.

Steel quickly snapped himself out of it. "Sorry! Sorry. It's just…" He paused, nervously kicking one foot with the other. "…She was my first crush, see, and…"

Game rolled his eyes. "Go get her, then."

Steel's eyes went wide. "After the way I made a fool of myself last time, I don't think I could handle it. Is there even any point to getting her? She's a robot, after all…"

"Well, you should know, now shouldn't you?"

"I'm a Megaman fanatic…not a robotics engineer." countered Steel.

Game sighed. "Well, fine, we'll just leave her there to slowly rust…" He watched for a reaction, and was not disappointed.

"R-r…rust?!" Steel's eye twitched HARD as he spoke.

Game wasn't done pushing, either. "Well, come on, what else is there for her to do there? So dangerous there, too…" he teased, gesturing at the screen.

"FINE, fine! I hate it when you do that. Lemme look her up in the bio-finder…"

As Steel took a seat at one of the terminals, Game smiled in victory. "It's for your own good, Mr. is-there-any-point."

"Shut up already! Ok, Roll Light. A robot built by Dr. Light as a housekeeping robot. Aha, she's designed to get energy from food…and according to this, extra energy is stored the same way a human stores fat!"

"*Cough*WRITTER'SCONVENIENCE!*cough*"

"You say something?" asked Steel, turning.

Game shook his head. "Nope, not at all. And that crack in the fourth wall over there, that was Ed's fault. Really."

"O…k…but really, I made a HUGE fool of myself the last time I saw her…you'll go get her for me, right?" Steel pleaded.

"Yea…no."

"Why not?!"

Game looked his partner squarely in the eye. "Come on, if you really like her, you're going to have to talk to her at some point. 'Sides, you can't avoid her forever…only so much stuff to hide behind around here."

"I will, just, later…look, I'm honestly not really trying to avoid her, it's just…she probably wouldn't come back with me, after what happened last time…" Steel shuddered at the memory.

It was at this point that the one thing that was out of place here registered in Game's mind. "Wait…what do you mean, 'last time'?"

Steel sighed. "To make THAT long story short, I have a special dimension traveling device…portable, even…but it only goes to the Megaman dimensions. And before you ask, it broke, that's why I haven't used it to get there and bring girls back."

Game raised an eyebrow. "And what did you do to Roll that's so bad?" he questioned, fearing the answer.

"Um…well, see…nothing's as important to Roll as Megaman's safety, and…"

"So what did you do to Megaman?"

Steel began to wring his hands together. "Um…I kinda…mighta…knockedhimintooneofthosebottomlessholes…"

"……You disgust me."

"It was an accident, I swear! Megaman's my idol, I'd never do something like that on purpose…but Roll wouldn't listen to me…"

Game took another look at the monitor. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all…"

"I REALLY wanna have another chance with her, I'm just afraid she still hasn't forgiven me yet, that's all…"

"Fine, fine, I'll go, I'll go…"

"REALLY?!" Steel practically tackled his friend with a bear hug. "THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!"

"Gah, get OFF me!"

"OOPS, Sorry!!" Steel quickly jumped back, scratching the back of his head. "My bad, I promise that won't happen again."

"Just go turn the 'porter on…" growled Game. Steel saluted and rushed to the controls as Game climbed onto the pad. "And no dinosaur antics this time!"

"I said I was sorry!" Steel flipped the switch, and Game watched as everything went dark again.

When everything cleared, he found himself on a street corner in the middle of a city. He was facing a large building that looked like something of a cross between a house and an office building, marked with a single, oversized L. "Must stand for Light. …I'm gonna kill Steel if I get thrown out or something 'cuz of him…"

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of barking. Looking around, he spotted the robotic dog Steel had identified as Rush bounding up toward him. "Aww, hewwo." Rush gave a happy bark, wagging his tail. Game pet him a couple of times while asking, "Do you know where Roll is, boy?"

Rush tilted his head to one side, then gave another bark before turning around and rushing toward the building. Game followed, watching as the Rush slipped through a doggie door. 'Don't think I can fit in there…' he mused, trying the doorknob. He was surprised to find it unlocked, and stepped inside.

Rush began to head further in, stopping to look back and bark every few seconds. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Sheesh." The two came to a large room, full of workbenches covered in tools and lots of parts and projects strewn about. On the far side of the room, back facing Game, was another, humanoid robot.

She was busy sweeping, taking no notice of the newcomer. Her blonde hair, which was held in a ponytail by a long, green ribbon, swayed back and forth a bit as she worked. Although she appeared to be wearing a red dress, the reflection of light off it told him it was merely a paint job…and that everything on her was metal. Even her red boots were made of metal.

'Ok, gotta be smooth about this…' Game reasoned to himself as he slowly took a few steps closer to the girl. "Um, excuse me?" In a flash, the female robot spun around, holding her broom like a staff, and looking as though she intended to attack first and ask later. Game quickly explained, "I'm not here to hurt anyone, j-just to talk."

She lowered the broom. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I'm not used to having just anyone walk in. Are you here to see Dr. Light?"

Game shook his head. "Someone…sort of wanted to see you."

"By someone, you mean you?"

"No, a…friend of mine…" His voice dropped low as he quickly added, "A dumb-as-dirt friend of mine."

The girl looked a bit confused. "Well, if you're not the one that wanted to see me. Then why are you here?" She paused, her green eyes going wide. "Oh my, my manners! My name's Roll, by the way. What's yours?"

"Game. Captain…Game…listen, the person who wants to see you…he's afraid you're angry with him…"

Roll thought for a second. "Angry? Aside from Dr. Wily and Bass, I've never been angry with anyone……except for…wait…"

Game nodded. "He wasn't trying to…"

"You're talking about that one kinda weird guy…what was his name, it's been so long…"

"Steel."

"Right, him!" Roll's smile quickly disappeared. "Oh, now I see…"

"He wasn't trying to hurt anyone, he's just…well…he's…he's dumb."

"Well, maybe not dumb, but…I really regret how I acted. After Megaman explained everything, I wanted to apologize, but I never saw him again…"

Game scratched the back of his head. "He pretty much seems to think you've got a picture of him on a dartboard around here somewhere…"

"Really?" asked Roll, seeming a bit alarmed. "Wow, I knew what I did was wrong, but I honestly didn't think he'd take it that hard…of course, sometimes I get beside myself when it comes to Megaman's safety…" she finished with a nervous giggle.

"He's sorta beating himself up over it, and he'd appreciate it if you went and saw him…"

"Could you please take me to see him? I really should apologize, the way I reacted was wrong…"

Game nodded again. "We…actually run a hotel…" he began.

"A hotel? That sounds nice, but what difference does it make?"

"I'm…sure he'd like it if you stayed there…" Game could feel himself getting mentally wedged between a rock and a hard place. 'How do I explain this to her without telling her he's in love…'

Roll shifted in a slightly nervous way. "I know I should go say I'm sorry, but I don't think I could be gone that long…Megaman might need my help, and this lab will get so messy…"

"I know for a fact that I can get stand-ins." Game offered.

"Um…well…maybe a day or two wouldn't hurt." She giggled a little before continuing. "I actually thought he was kinda cute, but I never really got a good chance to say so…"

Game's eyes widened for a split second as he choose a new road to try. "He'd…well, I really shouldn't tell you this, but…he'd really, really like knowing that you think that way."

Roll looked up at him, eyes filled with confusion. "He would? …He…likes me?"

"Very…very much so. He'd…probably hate me saying this, but…he described you as his 'first crush'."

Roll looked down at the floor, one of her feet moving about nervously. "First?" Her voice dropped nearly to a whisper. "He chose me first, before a human even?"

"Mm-hmm." Game silently noted to himself, 'In fact, sometimes I'm not sure he's human at all.'

Roll looked back up. "You…you can take me to see him?"

"Of course! And I can keep this place working just fine, I have contacts."

Roll nodded. "Alright then. I should just leave a quick note for Dr. Light, though."

"Ok, I can wait. But…I'm not sure it would be smart for you to tell him that you like him too soon…or to tell him that I told you that he likes you…"

Roll gave a happy smile. "Oh, I won't! It'll just be our little secret for now. Besides, I couldn't possibly tell him something like that without making things right between us again…" As she talked, she quickly scribbled a short note, leaving it on one of the worktables.

"Ok, you ready to go?"

"Sure! Take care of the lab for me, Rush!" The robotic dog barked in response.

"Just take my hand…" said Game, holding it out.

Right as she took it, everything began to go black. "Whoa, what's happening? Are we teleporting?"

"Yup." The control room reappeared around them, drool still covering the floor, and no one around.

Roll took one look at the floor and freaked out a little. "Oh, my. What a mess. I feel like cleaning all of a sudden…"

But Game stopped her before she could follow through. "We have people that do that for you here."

"Really? I always have to do all the cleaning at the lab."

Game smiled. "You'll like it here."

Roll began to head for the door, but stopped and looked down after her foot hit the floor. "This…this isn't water, is it?"

"Um…i-it's nothing…i-it's…soda water! Yeah, that's why it's so sticky…" 'Honestly, Steel, you coulda cleaned a little of it up…'

Roll left the substance alone, asking no further questions about it. "So, what now?"

"We should probably find Steel."

"I like that idea. But where is he?"

Game quickly looked around the room to be sure it was empty aside from himself and Roll. "Who knows? He was probably too scared to stick around…but someone had to be working the controls, so he can't be far…"

He trailed off as he noticed Ed walk past the door. Rushing into the hall, he called out to the brain-dead Ed-boy. "Oh, hiya Mr. Game!" Ed stated happily after turning around.

Game sighed. "I know I'm gonna regret asking, but…did you see where Steel went?"

"Mr. Steel?" Ed's eyes became tiny and he started to sweat. "Nope, haven't seen 'em!"

Game leaned closer. "Ed…are you lying to me? And by lying to me, I mean 'did someone put you up to lying to me'." Ed stuttered a bit before slapping both hands over his mouth, sweating harder. "Ed, I didn't wanna do this, but…no toast OR butter for a month if you don't tell me."

Ed stopped sweating, pulses going down his eyebrow like the line on a heart monitor, getting faster by the second. "No…buttered…toast…?"

Game nodded and went on. "And tell Eddy, WHEREVER HE MAY BE, that he owes me a quarter if you don't tell."

That was all it took. Eddy leapt out of a nearby potted plant, and began to shake Ed. "WHAT?! For the love of money, Ed, tell 'em! TELL 'EM!!"

"But Eddy I promised!"

"It's for a good reason, Ed…" Game tried explaining.

"Yeah, money!" exclaimed the panicking Eddy.

Ed shed a few tears, placing both hands on his head, then finally, "HE IS HIDING BEHIND THE FRONT DESK!!" He froze, stiff as a stone. "Uh-oh…I'm a bad boy, Eddy." Grabbing at one side of his mouth, he pulled a zipper across it.

Game pet Ed as though he were a dog. "No, you're helping Ed…good boy."

Ed unzipped his mouth and turned to his friend. "Am I a good boy, Eddy?"

"Yeah, whatever. I don't owe you jack, got it?!" Eddy turned and marched off, with Ed following.

"My, you certainly have some strange guests here…" commented Roll.

"Those are the Eds. They're more or less harmless, just watch from a safe distance. Double D's around here somewhere…he's good with his hands, so go see him if you get broken or anything, ok?"

Roll grinned. "That won't be necessary. Who do you think handles all the repairs at the lab?"

"Oh, right…I forgot…" He blushed, putting his hand behind his head nervously. As the two walked along, a blue yoshi went by, casually tossing a banana to itself.

"What is that?" inquired Roll.

"Oh, that's a yoshi. They're nice. A little goofy sometimes, but nice. They don't mind if you ride them."

Roll looked at the dino like creature. "That might not be a good idea, I think I'm a little too heavy for that…"

'You don't know the half of it…' Game thought, barely containing his imagination from going out of control, mostly for his partner's sake. "No, seriously, they can handle it, right buddy?"

"Well…if you're sure…" She timidly approached the yoshi.

(But I wanted to eat my lunch.) griped the yoshi. (And she's cold!) it added as Roll climbed on.

"Wow, this is kinda comfy…" stated Roll.

(What's that supposed to mean?!)

Game cleared his throat. "Let's just go, ok?" Turning to the yoshi, he quickly asked, (What crawled up your tail today?)

(It's not my fault that she's cold! Did she jump in an ice-box or something?!)

Game chose to ignore the yoshi, as the front desk had come into view. Walking up and placing his hands on the counter, he looked directly at Lucario's closed eyes. "Um, Lucario? Would you mind telling the knucklehead currently taking shelter here that the jig's up?"

"I'm afraid you are mistaken." The aura pokemon responded.

'If he's lying to me, I'll never be able to figure it out…' Game smiled as he hit upon an idea. "Alright then, you won't mind me checking, will you?"

"You may feel free to examine my workspace."

Game sighed. "No point, if he was here you would've tried to keep me out. Alright then, where IS he?"

Lucario continued to stand as still as a statue. "I'm afraid I can not answer that."

"Listen, I don't care if he made you promise, this is important!"

"I am bound by my word to not speak of his location."

Game growled. "Well, I swore I'd take Roll here to see him, so looks like we're at an impasse."

Surprisingly, Lucario actually opened his eyes at this point. "It would seem so. The only thing I can offer is that he is not here."

Game locked his own eyes with Lucario's. "Well, I'm afraid I'm not leaving without getting the info." His eyes narrowed a bit as he continued, "And I'm afraid you're not covered by P.E.T.A., if you get what I'm saying."

The pokemon didn't back down. "You expect me to fall for an empty threat when I can use your aura to see that you're lying?"

Game swallowed hard, a Bullet Bill blaster popping out of his question mark block. "No. Which is why I'm gonna follow through. Sorry, but I NEED to know where he is, and I know you can take a hit…"

Lucario returned to his meditating pose. "Very well, he has retreated to the next level. But I will say no more."

"Next…level. Well, I sincerely doubt pain is a good motivator for you, so I guess I'm gonna have to figure out what the hell that means…"

"Perhaps our guest would care to sign in while you are here?"

Game waved it off. "We'll come back later, this is more important…"

"I believe it would be wise to sign in NOW…" prompted Lucario.

"Fine, pushy. Roll?" Still a bit off-guard from everything that had just happened, Roll silently took the pen and added her name to the page.

Lucario handed her a key, and said, "Perhaps she'd like to see her room now."

Game's eyes widened as things clicked into place. 'I coulda thought of that…' "C'mon Roll, let's get going."

"Ok…but will we see Steel soon? I'm starting to feel a little nervous…"

"Don't worry, we're gonna find him REAL soon. C'mon, let's go to your room." As the two approached the room door, Game noted the sounds of someone moving around and mumbling. He quickly knocked on the door, shouting, "HEY, STEEL!"

The room instantly went deadly quiet. "Enough bull, I know you're in there!" He could hear the sound of a window being opened. "OH, LIKE HELL YOU DO!!" He didn't even bother with the key, firing a Bullet Bill to knock the door aside. Rushing in, he found Steel half-way out the window, but unable to go further due to his vest having caught on something.

"OH, SNAP!"

"GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" roared Game, hurrying to the window. Taking advantage of Steel's position, he opened the window as far as it would go, then slammed it shut. Steel cried out in pain, while Game barely avoided his temptation to do it again. "GET…IN…HERE!"

Steel slowly slid back into the room, avoiding looking at Roll, who was watching with wide, worried eyes. Game got right up is Steel's face, looking like an enraged bull. "I should rip your head off, you know that?! I'm gonna leave you two alone a minute, but first…" He took the stylus blade out and drew a large X over the window, making escape that way impossible.

'Ohhhh, snaaaaaaap…' Steel mentally groaned, beginning to sweat a little.

Game turned and stomped over to the door, drawing another X over it after he had stepped into the hall. "Have…a nice…day! Just yell for me when you're done, ok Roll?"

"Um…alright…" she replied, sounding a bit nervous.

The two remained where they were, silent for several seconds. In a soft, squeaky voice, Steel finally force out, "U…um…hi, R-Roll…" Roll attempted a response, not really getting anything out herself. Taking another glance at the now unusable door, he finally broke down. "I'msosorryaboutwhathappeneditwasanaccident…" he kept ranting on.

Roll quickly countered, "I-it's ok! I…I overreacted, it's really my fault."

Steel's rant came to an abrupt end. "Come again?"

"I-I overreacted…I wouldn't listen, and…I'm sorry."

Steel shifted a bit. "No, no, it was my fault, I knocked Megaman into that hole…I'm really sorry."

"It was just an accident…accidents happen, and he's fine and all…"

Steel dared to come a couple of steps closer to her. "Y-you mean it?"

Roll nodded. "Yeah…I'm really sorry for getting so angry with you! I…"

Steel cut her off. "No, it's fine, really. I'm ok, no harm done, so…"

Roll folded her hands, looking a bit guilty. "No, I shouldn't have…I didn't know…"

'Please, please, PLEASE don't let this make her angry…' Steel thought as he closed the remaining distance. Roll went silent as he wrapped his arms around her in a friendly hug. "It's ok, I'm fine. Really. I'd like to just forget all about it and move on…still be friends…" 'And maybe more.' he silently added.

Roll snapped out of her shock and slipped out of Steel's arms. "U-um, ok! I'll just be going, then!" 'What emotion was that…?'

Steel could feel his mind undergo a meltdown. 'NONONO, I MESSED UP AGAIN!' His face read pure disappointment as he replied, "O-oh…ok…"

It didn't go unnoticed by Roll. 'Oh no, I think I made him sad…' "I-I just want to look around, that's all…" she explained.

Steel's head shot back up. "Oh, you meant…" He laughed nervously. "I thought…well, never mind. Um…" He paused for a few seconds, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Would you…like me to show you everything?" 'Please say yes…'

"You…you don't mind?"

"No, of course not! It…would be my pleasure…"

Roll smiled. "O-ok!"

Steel began to leave the room, his gaze locked on Roll…until he ran into the X Game had drawn. "Oh, yeah…that…"

"U-um…Mr. Game?" Roll called.

Game slid into view from around the corner. "Yeah, I figured it was going ok when I didn't hear Steel-for-brains here screaming or anything."

Steel dropped his voice to a point where only Game could hear him and growled, "I'll kill you…"

"Calm down…" Game retorted as he pried the X off with the stylus. Steel mumbled something at him that he failed to catch, and he offered, "Girls don't like angry people, Steel…"

Steel raised his voice the tiniest bit. "I said 'thanks'…"

Game smiled and quietly responded, "Remind me to draw a mustache on you when you go to sleep tonight for leading me on such a wild goose chase."

Steel glared. "Try it, I dare you…"

Game waved it off. "Bah, I'm just kidding. Ed slobbering and apologizing all over you will be punishment enough. Go enjoy yourselves, you crazy kids."

"Right!" Steel exclaimed with a smile. "Come on, Roll, there's a lot for you to see!"

"O-ok!" She hurried after him. "Like what?"

Steel gave a small, nervous laugh. "Well…since you were chasing after me, I guess you already saw the front desk."

"Ch-chasing after you…"

'EEDIOT!' Steel mentally ridiculed himself. "I mean, trying to find me!"

"Oh…" Roll smiled, giving a nervous laugh of her own.

"Um, ok, let's see…oh, we should get you a yoshi first!"

"Um, the little dinosaur people, right? I've…kinda already met them."

"Oh, that's good. But I meant I should call one for you to ride while I show you everything."

Roll shook her head a little. "I-it's no big deal, I can just walk."

'I hope I don't get slapped for this…' "Well then, let's get going." Reaching over, he slipped his hand around Roll's. However, he was quick to pull away when she gave a startled cry. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't…" He was mentally kicking himself, 'Oh, WHY did I do that?!'

'Wha-what's wrong with me?' thought Roll. 'It's not like being touched should freak me out or anything…it's no different from when I run my hand along a wall…' "It's ok, you…um…just wanted to make sure I didn't get lost, right?"

"Um…yeah, of course!" Steel happily replied, grateful for the save she'd given him. He blushed a little and offered his hand, which she timidly took, keeping an eye on his cheeks.

'Why is his face red? Is this embarrassing him?' she wondered to herself.

'She's so cute…and I'm worried I can't keep it hidden…' In a desperate attempt to calm himself, he quickly asked, "Um, let's get going, s-shall we?"

Roll forced a smile, pushing her questions to the back of her mind for now. "S-sure."

As they walked along, Steel worked hard to gather his own jumbled thoughts. 'Ok, nothing out of the ordinary here…just be professional.' "Ok, um, well over here, we have the dining room, where the meals are served. But we also have room service, so coming down here is optional."

Roll's eyes widened. "People…serve…me…?" The idea was completely foreign to her. Robots served people, not the other way around.

But she pushed the strangeness of the concept out of her mind when Steel nodded. "That's how we designed this place! Food or anything else you need can be obtained right from your room with the phone!"

"Do…do you bring the food?"

It took everything Steel had to not perform an anime-style fall from surprise. 'She…wants ME to do it?' "Um…normally we have the moogles and prinnies do it…" He trailed off, noticing that she looked a little…disappointed. 'EEDIOT, don't lose this opportunity!'

'If I see him more, he'll get to know me more, right?' Roll pondered.

"B-but, u-um…i-if you w-want…I could d-do it f-for you…" 'I'd LOVE to.' he added in his mind.

'Ok, how do I say yes without being obvious about it…?' "Um, I don't really know what a 'moogle' or a 'prinny' is, so I think I'd be more comfortable if…" She trailed off, unsure if she had chosen the right way to go about this.

'Oh…that's why she…' Steel could feel disappointment trying to set in, but forced it back. "Sure. It's no problem. I'll set the phone in your room up so you can call me when you want something."

"O-ok…" Roll looked at Steel carefully. 'He still seems nervous.'

Steel quickly forced the disappointment from himself, regaining his concentration, and pointing at another door. "And we also have a pool just through there…but I think it's closed for repairs…"

"I'm…not sure I'm waterproof."

Steel laughed nervously while giving himself another mental lecture. "Oh, right. Well, the only other thing of interest down here right now is our Safari Zone, where we have a bunch of cute little pokemon."

"Pokemon?" asked a confused Roll, having never heard of the creatures before.

"You'll understand better if you see one. It's just around this corner, come on!" He quickly led her around the corner, letting go of her hand. Moving close to one of the bushes, he began to dig into it, and pulled out a small, brown rabbit with thick patches of fur on the tips of its ears and the lower half of its body. "This is one of our pokemon! This one is called a Buneary!"

"It…it's cute!" Roll stated, looking curiously at the rabbit pokemon. Steel placed the Buneary in her hands, and she timidly began to pet it. 'This is what I'm supposed to do with it, right? It's what most humans do with furry animals…not that it has any real meaning to me…'

Steel smiled. "The Safari Zone was built just so everyone could come play with the pokemon."

"And I can come here all the time?"

"Whenever you want. And you don't ever have to walk if you don't want to, a yoshi can carry you…"

Roll could feel her excitement building, but kept it hidden. 'Ok, just be calm and say…' "You're nice…"

Even as she began to question herself on her choice of words, Steel was feeling ready to rocket through the roof. "Thanks! You're really cute…" He cut himself off as he realized what he was saying. 'I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT. SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!'

Roll's worry was quickly replaced by happiness. 'He thinks I'm cute! B-but, this is a little early, I'll pretend I didn't hear it.' "Huh?"

Steel silently released a held breath as relief washed over him. "Oh, nothing." He watched as she placed the Buneary back on the floor. "We have a few more things around here that should be opening soon, but I'll wait and show you those later. Maybe you'd like to see our chao garden? It has lots of cute animals, too."

"Ok…" Roll responded, sounding a little passive.

Steel took notice and decided to try another approach. "Um…or did you have any questions or something you wanted to see?"

'I have questions, but…' She fidgeted the slightest bit, unsure of how to proceed.

'She's not answering…think fast…' "Or maybe you're feeling a bit tired? I could take you back to your room in you prefer…"

"Um…that would be nice. But could you bring me some food?"

Steel's concentration was quick to bear down and stop his imagination…this was one time he couldn't have one of his 'episodes'. "O-of course! We'll stop by the kitchen and grab some food, then I'll take you back to your room and show it to you…"

"Actually…I'd like to lay down a little while first…"

"Oh, alright. Do you remember the way back, then?"

"Could you walk me?" Worried that she might have phrased her request too strongly, she quickly added, "…I…forgot, I forgot."

Steel didn't suspect a thing. "Sure, I'd lo…er, be happy to."

"Ok. Thank you!"

As they began to head back down the halls, Steel remembered something else. "Um, by the way, I made sure your bed had a plug for your recharge port…I remembered you telling me about it once…"

Roll looked at him, surprised he'd remembered something like that. "Thank you. You're very…thoughtful!" She smiled, hoping her choice of words was correct.

Steel smiled as well, though he went silent. 'I think I'm getting the hang of this. I swear, put me in the same room as any other girl, and I can sweet-talk through just about anything, but put me in a room with Roll…'

Roll noticed Steel's sudden silence, and began to worry a little. 'Am I making him nervous? It's…it's because I'm a robot, isn't it? He's uncomfortable because I'm…a thing, and not a person…'

Steel snapped out of his thoughts, and noted Roll's appearance. "You ok?"

Roll quickly covered herself with a lie. "I just need to lay down."

"Ah, well…here we are."

"I'll…see you later, ok?" she asked, feeling a bit uncertain.

"Um, actually, it it's alright, I'm gonna alter your phone real quick."

"Ok…but why?" She was very confused by his request.

"Well, normally, the phone calls the kitchen for food, and the front desk for anything else. Just two buttons. But I promised to bring you your food, so I'm gonna change the button on your phone to call me instead of the kitchen…"

"Ok! So I can call you anytime." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt nervous. 'That came out wrong…'

'Did…did she really say that?!' Steel held back his own excitement. "Y-yeah, if ever need any food, or…w-well, you can call me for anything." 'ANYthing…' he thought happily.

"Even just to talk?" She asked, then questioned herself, 'I'm coming on too strong, aren't I?'

Steel, however, was hard-pressed to keep his feet on the floor. "S-sure." He swallowed hard and blushed a little as he added, "Though, if you ever want to talk…you could call me and…I'll come here?"

Roll was a bit taken aback by his suggestion. "You don't have to come if you don't want to…"

"N-no, really, it's nothing! I'd be happy to!" 'SOOOO happy…' he added in his head.

"No, you don't have to, I'm just a robot…" Things quickly went silent as she cut herself off, not having meant to say the last part.

Steel's nervousness evaporated. "What do you mean 'just a robot'?"

Unsure of herself, Roll quickly pushed the already fixed and slightly ajar door all the way open. "It's nothing, I'm just gonna take a nap now…" But she stopped and looked back when her sensors informed her that something was wrapped around one of her wrists. Looking, she found it to be Steel's hand. Had she wanted to, she could have easily pulled free of his grasp, but something she saw in his eyes stopped her from even thinking about trying it.

In a firm voice, Steel asked her, "Roll…does being a robot bother you for some reason?"

"N-no." she quickly fibbed.

Steel wasn't satisfied. "Are you sure?"

"I was thinking about something else, I meant to say 'just a guest'."

"Well…alright then. But…please don't think that there's anything wrong with being a robot. I know we had that fight and everything, but, I always really liked you as a friend, and I don't care if you're a robot…I like you the way you are." No sooner was he done with his short speech that Steel began to mentally kick himself, thinking that he had chosen a bad time to say all that.

Roll was stunned for a second. "I…that means a lot to me. I'm really glad you're not upset at me for getting angry at you before…I'm willing to put it behind us if you are…"

"Yeah, I'd really like that." Suddenly becoming aware that he was still holding her wrist, Steel blushed and let go. "Um, lemme just fix the phone real quick, and then I'll let you take your nap…" He hurried over to the device, wishing to hide his growing redder face from her.

Roll smiled again. "I'm really glad we can start over like this, Steel. And…I'm sorry that I got you so nervous earlier."

Hoping humor would help hide his current feelings, Steel quickly responded, "It's nothing. I mean, it's kinda funny, looking back…I almost jumped out a second-story window!" He laughed a bit nervously.

"So…talk to you later?"

Steel pulled away from the phone. "Well, I'm done here, so…yeah, I guess so. Oh, here's where that recharge plug is. So…that's everything for now. I'll let you settle in, but if you need anything, just lemme know, ok?"

Roll gave a slightly weak smile. "Ok…bye!" After the door was hut, she climbed onto the bed. 'I still don't understand…what… emotion was I experiencing when he hugged me? And why did I freak out when he held my hand…and why did he blush when he did? This is all so confusing…'

On the other side of the door, Steel was doing all he could to not start yelling for joy. Throwing his fist up in victory, he dashed off toward the control room, not even bothering with the warp star. 'I'm getting another chance…I'M GETTING ANOTHER CHANCE!! YIPEE!!'

*****************************************************************

Will things work out between Steel and Roll? And what about Game...will he find a special someone? The only way to find out is to keep reading!


	5. The Speed of Sound

Double D: "Ahem. Neither Mr. Game nor Mr. Beam possess any legal rights to the material utilised in this fan-fiction, and use it only on the premise that no money will be made from its distribution. ...but please don't tell Eddy. He's only in this story because he thinks he's getting a royalty..."

* * *

Steel bounded into the control room, a grin spread across his face. Game looked up as he entered, and noticing Steel's disposition, he asked, "I assume stuff went well?"

Steel nodded vigorously. "It went great! I'm getting another chance!"

"So I've heard."

Steel's smile momentarily vanished, and his eye twitched. "Heard? You…YOU WERE WATCHING US?!!"

"No, you were practically screaming, pinhead!"

"I……was……? I hope she didn't hear me…"

Game tugged on his collar. "I'm…sure she didn't."

"Anywoo…how are things in here?"

"I'm looking at the omniverse…a dimension just went screaming through sector A-3, I'm trying to catch it."

"O…k…" Steel shook his confusion off. "Oh, do you know where I left my phone?"

"I think Ed ate it…" Game replied, not looking up from his work.

Steel was silent for several seconds, his face blank. "HE DID WHAT?!!"

"He thought it was a candy bar…"

Steel slapped his hand against his face. "That's what I get for having a chocolate…"

"Double D's trying to get it out, but…do you want it?"

"YES!!" Steel quickly recomposed himself when Game looked up at him, a disgusted expression plastered across his face. "Er, I mean, I kinda need it…"

Over in one corner, Double D walked in, holding a slimy object in a pair of tongs. "Honestly Ed, who knows what those satellite waves could've done to your intestinal tract?"

"Can I eat it again?" asked Ed, smiling wide.

Steel rushed over. "You got it?"

Double D nodded. "That, and part of Ed's appendix. I'm still trying to figure out why it was in his stomach…" Double D watched in horror as Steel snagged the phone and, apparently forgetting about where it had just been, kissed it. "Dear lord, do you have any idea what sort of germs go down Ed's esophagus on a daily basis?!"

Steel blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry…but this phone is now officially the second most important thing around here as far as I'm concerned."

Meanwhile, Ed had pulled out a cockroach and was kissing it. Game eyed the critter nervously. "Ed, tell me you found that cockroach outside…"

"What difference does it make?" inquired Steel.

Game shot him an angry glance. "What difference does it make if we have cockroaches?!"

"How hard could getting rid of them be after those breadbugs?"

Ed chose this moment to speak up. "Nah, I found this at my house! His name is Squishy, and he is mine, and he is my-"

Game cut him off. "That's… good for you, Ed…"

Steel quickly wiped his phone off before pocketing it. "I'm never letting go of this little baby again."

Game noted Steel's behavior and grinned a little. "You got her phone number?"

Steel underwent an anime-style fall. "No…not exactly…I rewired her room phone to call my cell."

"Um… I think that qualifies as stalking, Steel…"

Steel's eyes went wide. "NO, NOT LIKE THAT! See, she asked me if I'd be the one to bring her food when she wants it, so with her permission, I rewired the phone to call me instead of the kitchen, that's all!"

"Wow, she's…really being nice to you…"

"Yeah…she called me nice, too…I gotta be more careful, though. I accidentally called her cute while she was looking at the pokemon."

"Hmm. Maybe she thinks you're cute?" Game questioned, though he knew the answer very well already.

"Maybe…but still, I gotta be careful about how soon and how far I go. I'm really lucky to get another chance here, especially like this…I REFUSE to blow it!"

Game mentally chuckled. 'Believe me, even you can't blow this…'

"So, anything else new?" asked Steel, hoping to change the subject.

"Um, still trying to chase down that dimension…it's weird, dimensions don't usually, you know…move."

"Move? That IS weird…"

"Something's gotta be moving pretty effing fast in there…or somethin'."

Steel thought for a moment. "Fast…fast…it wouldn't happen to be breaking the sound barrier, would it?"

"Well, there's no sound in the omniverse, but if there was, it would be…"

"Only one candidate comes to mind, then."

Game nodded. "Right there with you. I'm gonna work on calibrating the destination. Don't get run over or roboticized while you're there…"

"ME?!"

"No, Ed."

"Cracker-jack!" exclaimed Ed.

Steel turned to his partner. "Face it, I can handle the fast work better than you here. I'll make it up to you later, ok?" Game just looked at Steel, not responding, so Steel continued. "I CAN do this, I promise! After all, I'm all happy and determined from getting my second chance! If I can't do this now, I can't do it ever!"

"You're just afraid your girlfriend will call, aren't you?"

There was a long pause before Steel answered. "Kinda. And she's not my girlfriend…….yet."

"Fine, whatever. Go chase down the Sonic dimension."

Steel sat at the controls and began to work. Within ten seconds, he announced, "Got it!"

"That's a speck on the monitor, bozo." Steel responded by running a replay, slowing things down to super, super slow-mo. Now displayed on the screen was Sonic the Hedgehog in all his glory. "Huh. I thought he was tied up in Brawl…"

"Considering the Lucario runs the front desk, and that both Kirby and Mario have shown up around here, I would think Brawl is over…"

"Good point." Game admitted.

"Ready to head out?" asked Steel as he moved to the portal's controls.

"Sure, whatever." He climbed onto the pad and watched as things went dark. When they cleared again, he was standing in the middle of a large, grassy field. He barely had time to notice this before a blue streak rushed past him, leaving a slicing wind effect behind. "Aaaand all the paint just peeled off my block…" he commented to himself, looking at his backpack.

He took a moment to survey for anything of interest. But it was just an empty field for as far as the eye could see…aside from a single, lone tree some distance away from where he stood. "Well, this is dull. Guess I'll just sit under that tree and…wait."

As he began to get closer to the tree, he became aware of the sound of crying, but looking around, he couldn't see anyone. "Already I have begun to succumb to this green desert of nothingness…mirages setting in…must…have…WATER!" Suddenly, his mind put two and two together, and he realized the sound was coming from the other side of the tree. "Oh. …Well, I feel like an ass…" He walked around the tree to find a pink hedgehog sitting against it and crying. She wore a red hair-band and dress, red boots with white stripes, and white gloves with gold bracelets. She had pulled her knees up to her chest and was sobbing almost uncontrollably. "Wh-what's wrong?"

The hedgehog immediately screamed at the sound of his voice, swinging one hand out in a vicious slap that met Game's cheek HARD. He cried out in pain, and she looked up at him, her surprise causing her to stop crying. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that! Usually the only human I see around here is Eggman…"

"And you thought slapping him would scare him away…?"

"Actually, if I wanted to just scare him, I'd use this!" she announced, pulling out a giant mallet.

Game pressed on his jaw, causing a loud cracking sound. "Well, you've certainly got the arm for it."

"I'm really sorry. I was just kinda…out of it…" A single tear slid out of her eye and down her cheek.

Game took notice of it. "Aww…i-it's ok, what's wrong?"

"Hmm? N-nothing's wrong! But even if something was wrong, why would you care? You don't even know my name."

"I…well, I don't know, it just bugs me to see a girl crying like that…"

The pink hedgehog lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "I wish Sonic felt that way…"

"Oh, so that's what's wrong…?"

"Well……I guess maybe it might help if I talked about it…"

"Y-yeah, talking always helps." Game encouraged.

"It's just…I don't understand why he keeps running away…"

"Well, for starters, I'm pretty sure holding still is hard for him." 'Or so it says in his bio, anyway.' he added mentally.

"Well, I guess so…but still…"

Game hesitated before going on. "And…well, this is gonna be a little blunt, but…maybe you're scaring him a little? You know, coming on too strong?"

'I…I never thought about it that way before…' the female hedgehog thought. "Do your really think so?"

"Well, yeah…sorry, but it's true…not that it makes you a bad person or anything."

"I just kinda feel like everyone else has somewhere they fit in, but I don't…"

"I know the feeling. Like, you just don't know what it is you're good at, or if you're good at anything at all…"

The hedgehog nodded. "Exactly! Tails prefers his machines to people, Cream's got her mom, Sonic's happy as long as there's places to run, and Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles are all loners, each for their own reasons…"

"And I always feel like someone's one-upping me, no matter what it is I'm doing."

The girl smiled. "I guess we have a bit in common. You know what? I think we're friends now! So, my name's Amy. Amy Rose."

"Captain Game. Nice to meet you."

"You were right, I do feel better now! Thanks for listening…"

Game shifted nervously. "Um…excuse me if I'm sorta turning this into a sales pitch, but it looks like you could use some R&R, I mean, this is clearly stressing you out…"

"Well, I suppose I was getting a bit emotional, wasn't I?"

"Well, I run a hotel, and…like I said, I'm sorry if this is turning into a sales pitch, I just thought…"

"Hmm……I can't remember when the last time was I took a vacation or anything like that was. Seems like every minute I spend either chasing Sonic or being captured…"

Game smiled wide. "Well, I won't charge you or anything."

"FREE? Then why are we waiting here?!"

"Just take my hand, ok?" Amy nodded, placing her hand in Game's. "Ok Steel, let's go." Everything faded, being replaced by the control room. Game gave a small shudder. "…Every time we do that, it feels like a near-death experience."

Amy took a quick look around. "Um…where are we?"

"The control room. Sort of like a front gate."

"Oh, Alright! Well, if this is a hotel, I'll need to sign in, right?"

Game smiled as he nodded. "You catch on quick. Come on, let's go."

Amy followed after Game, looking around as they headed down the hall. "So, what kind of things you got around here?"

"We've got a pool, which should be almost fixed by now…an arcade…various small animals…"

"Like chao?" asked Amy with a wide smile.

"Yeah, exactly. And pokemon, too…"

"Pokemon?"

"Oh, Sonic didn't tell you about-" Game quickly bit down on his tongue, but it was too late.

"What? Didn't tell me about what?!" demanded Amy.

"About…pokemon, that's all. He met some when he went to Brawl…"

"Brawl?"

"Um…I suppose you noticed he was gone a couple weeks in March or so…?"

Amy stopped walking, her eye twitching a bit. "My Sonic…left to go to a new place……AND DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING?!!"

Game began to panic as Amy pulled out her trademark hammer. "Hey, c'mon, don't kill the messenger…!"

"WHERE DID HE GO? AND WHY DIDN'T HE TELL ME ANYTHING?!"

"Um…it's a…tournament, and…"

"Fighting? He left to go fight?" inquired Amy, looking a little confused.

"Well…yeah…"

"AND HE DIDN'T INVITE ANY OF US?!"

Game turned to the fourth wall and asked, "You hearin' any of this, Sora?" He then quickly turned back to Amy, hoping to calm her down. "I-I don't think he was the one inviting people, Amy…"

"But then why didn't he say anything? And…if it was a tournament, why didn't Knuckles get invited?"

"Well…I don't know…I guess Shadow didn't say anything either, then-urk."

Amy's eye twitched again. "Shadow went with him…INSTEAD OF ME?!!"

Game quickly tried to explain. "Um, not so much as a fighter as-"

"SOOOOONNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIC!" Amy swung the hammer hard, and Game quickly jumped out of its path. The weapon smashed into the wall. "I swear, if I get my hands on him…" As she spoke, he entire body burst into flames.

It was at this moment that Double D came around the corner. "Um, Mr. Game, I wanted to inform you of-"

Amy whirled around to face the newcomer. "Who are you? AND CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRISIS HERE?!!" She raised her hammer high.

Double D's eyes shrank quickly in fear. "DEARLORDPLEASEHAVEMERCY!" Amy brought her hammer down, reducing him to a pancake. "…I really do wonder why I get up in the morning sometimes…" he noted as he began to crawl off as best he could.

Amy stood, hammer still in her hand and breathing hard, though the flames were gone. Game nervously walked up behind her. "Um…Amy, I know you're angry, but you just squished our head of technical design."

Amy turned around, going from enraged to confused so fast, it was practically a personality change. "I did what now?"

"You, um…sorta lost it."

Amy put her hammer away with a nervous laugh. "Oh! Sorry. I can get a bit carried away when it comes to Sonic, I guess."

"Well…I'm gonna help you calm down, ok?"

"Really? That's awfully nice of you, especially since we just met…"

Game smiled. "It's ok, I know how you must feel…"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Chasing after something, but no matter how fast you go, or how hard you try, it's always just a couple feet out of reach…"

A wave of sadness struck the pink hedgehog, and a single tear escaped her eye. "You don't know the half of it…"

"Come on, let's…let's try to get it out of your mind for now, ok? And don't worry about the hole in the wall, I'll fix it later…"

Amy looked at the place her hammer had struck, her eyes getting wide. 'Oh my god…I did that? Was I really that bad? And…is that why Sonic hates me? Why he's always running away?'

As Amy's thoughts went wild, Game noticed her silence. "C-come on…it's no big deal, stuff like this happens all the time around here…"

But Amy was too absorbed in her thoughts to hear him. 'I…I'm even worse than Knuckles or Shadow! It must be true! Sonic hates me cause he's scared of me!' As her thoughts reached this conclusion, another tear slid down her cheek.

Game noticed it and got a bit closer to her in concern. "Amy? Is everything ok?"

Amy snapped out of her mental rant. "Huh? Uh, yeah, fine…"

"Don't lie, you can talk to me!"

"Um…it's nothing…" Her hands nervously wringed themselves as she spoke.

"Let's…let's just get you signed in, ok? And…then I'll bring you some cake or something, alright…?" he ventured.

Amy's eyes widened a bit. "Um…do…do you…"

Game smiled reassuringly. "Do I what?"

"Serve…strawberry shortcake here?" Her voice dropped in volume considerably as she added, "It's my favorite comfort food."

Game placed a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "I'll bring you as much as you like."

"Y-you will?" she asked, a tiny blush appearing on her cheeks.

Game nodded happily. "I'll bring you a really big one, and…and I'll bring it to your room so you can lay down and eat it…"

The blush on Amy's face got a bit darker. "You'll serve me…in bed?"

"Yeah! Do you want something to drink with it?"

"Some strawberry milk would be nice…"

"Ok, I'll use extra syrup in it. Come on, let's get you signed in."

"A-alright." As they started walking again, Amy though, 'I…feel flustered all of a sudden…must just be excitement!'

"C'mon, the front desk is right…here. Hey Lucario."

"Lucario?"

"He's a pokemon." explained Game. "He actually fought Sonic in that Brawl thing I told you about…I'll ask him later if he knows why he didn't tell anyone, ok?" He felt a pang of guilt hit him as he noticed that Amy suddenly looked depressed. "Dammit, I said the 'S' word…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you…"

Amy shook her head. "It's not your fault…but…I think I wanna just try to forget about him for a little while…"

"Maybe that's best. I won't mention him again, ok? You just relax…just sign you name here, ok?"

"Alright." She quickly signed her name, cheering up a little.

Without moving from his usual meditating position, Lucario mentioned, "Your shortcake will be in your room shortly. And do cheer up…your aura is so blue right now, it's beginning to drain the color out of Mr. Game's."

Amy looked at the aura pokemon in surprise, and Game offered, "Lucario can see aura…to put it in simple terms, he's basically a mind reader."

"Oh, alright then. I'll try to be happy!" she said, smiling.

"And I'll help you be happy."

"Thank you. I'm glad I decided to come here. So, where to now?"

Game smiled, glad to see her happy again. "You want your strawberry shortcake, don't you? We can talk while you eat, and then we can go look around." Amy nodded, and Game went on, "We don't have a room made for you yet, so I'll just make it when we get there, ok?"

"That sounds alright."

The two walked along in silence until they reached the right room. Game opened the door. "Here we are! You have a nice view from here, I checked."

Amy rushed over to the window and looked out. "It's so pretty!"

"Ok, now to make the furniture." Game announced, pulling the stylus blade out of the physically too small to hold it block on his back.

Amy looked at the item curiously. "What's that?"

"I can draw stuff with it. Watch." He drew a single line, allowing it to clatter to the floor, revealing that it was now as physically real as anything else in the room.

"That's amazing!"

"Yeah…it means I can make the room exactly like you want! I'll make one of those fancy beds with the canopy thing, would you like that?"

"You can do that?" she asked, her eyes twinkling a little.

"Sure! And I'll make a nice table, maybe a T.V….I'll give this room all the trimmings!"

Amy giggled. "I think I'm gonna have more fun here than I thought!"

"Well, I gotta get started on this bed first. Hang on…" He quickly drew a few lines, forming the sketch of a couch. "I'll make a better one later, just wanted you to have somewhere to sit." Amy took a seat, while Game began to work on the bed. "I'll make it red and pink when I'm done, ok?"

"Those are my favorite colors!" she squealed happily.

"I guessed." Game moved up to the frame, having completed the legs. "So, why don't we get to know each other? You seem nice."

'He wants to get to know me?' she thought, surprised. "Um…well, there's really not much to tell…"

"Oh, come on! You must've gone to some really fascinating places…"

Amy sighed. "The most fascinating place I ever went was the space colony ARK, and we almost died there…we would have if it wasn't for Shadow and…you know…"

Game quickly sought a way to detour her thoughts. "Space? Cool. Olimar told me some stories about space travel. You'd like him, real nice guy."

Amy looked up. "Olimar? Who's that?"

"Well, he's sort of a space deliveryman. But one day, while making a delivery, his ship crashed…"

"Was he alright?" asked the pink hedgehog, looking concerned.

Game smiled, glad to see Amy wasn't sad anymore. He slowly went on, continuing to recount the story of Olimar as it had been told to him, watching as Amy slowly got more and more into it. However, it wasn't long before he was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, that must be your food. I lost track of time…door's open!"

The door opened and a moogle quickly pushed a cart into the room. "One order of strawberry shortcake and strawberry milk, kupo!"

Amy's eyes widened, sparkling a bit. "I…it's so big! I've never seen so much shortcake before!"

"And it's all yours." Game mentioned with a smile. Amy got up and went to cut herself a slice.

"SASSAFRASS!!" shouted a voice as Resident Ed popped out of the cake, covered in the syrupy filling. Amy screamed and slapped at him, but the clueless Ed simply bounced around like a punching bag, smiling the whole time. Amy gave up on hitting him and backed away.

Game saw what happened and quickly became annoyed. "Ed…what are you doing in the cake?"

"Eddy said he saw a girl do it on T.V.!"

Game quickly grabbed the cart, turning to Amy. "I'm…I'm really sorry. I'll go get you another." He hurried out of the room, dragging the cart away, and Ed along with it.

Amy shuddered. "I…I think…I'm going to be sick…ugh, and what's that smell?!"

After a few minutes, Game returned with a cake as big as the former one had been, and a larger glass of strawberry milk. "I'm sorry about that. He means well, he's just…well, as dumb as a post." He noticed that Amy was watching the cake with a terrified expression. "Don't worry, this one's fine. See?" He cut a piece and offered it to her. She accepted it with shaking hands. Wanting to calm her down, Game slowly walked over behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and beginning to gently massage them.

"HMMM?!" Amy turned, unsure of what he was doing, her shoulders tensing up a bit.

"I-I'm sorry, I was just trying to help you relax…" he explained. He smiled as he felt her tension disappear. "There…just eat your nice cake…"

Amy slowly took a bite, silently wondering to herself, 'Why is he being so nice?'

"Are we…all relaxed now?" He watched as Amy nodded, a little bit of a blush appearing on her face. He gently turned her, guiding her toward the bed he had just finished. "Why don't you just take a nap, and I'll wake you when I'm done in here so we can look around?"

"W-well…I am feeling a little tired. Are you sure? I feel kinda bad just sleeping when you're working…"

"It's a hotel, silly." Game replied with a wide smile.

Amy set the plate down, sitting on the bed and removing her boots. "Well, ok, if you're sure…"

"I'm very sure. Good night."

"Night." Amy slowly drifted off to sleep, the blush still on her cheeks.

Elsewhere, the actions of Game and Amy were not going unnoticed. Steel was still in the control room, watching the security camera feed for Amy's room. Reaching over, he knocked on a part of the machine. "Dude, get out here, you gotta see this."

"What, what?" asked Greymatter as he slid out of the machine.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with an interest around here." He pointed at the screen.

"…She's sleeping." stated the alien, not understanding.

"Yes, but look at how Game's looking at her…"

"Well, I suppose…"

Steel took another look at the screen himself. "Hey, is she dreaming or something? She's kinda thrashing a tad…"

Steel was actually quite right, Amy was in the middle of a dream. She had found herself back in the same grassy field where she'd been picked up from, and as she so often did, she found herself chasing Sonic.

She kept calling out to him, but he never so much as looked back. She tried going faster, but with each step, her legs felt like they were getting heavier, and Sonic was quickly getting further away. Little by little, Sonic went to being a speck on the horizon, then disappeared. By this point, Amy was unable to lift her legs at all, falling into a kneeling position and beginning to cry. "Sonic…why do you always run away?"

Everything around her slowly faded, leaving her alone in a darkness where she couldn't see anything. She kept crying, and shivered at the coldness of whatever place she was in now. "I don't want to be alone…"

"Amy? Amy, it's ok…"

She gasped, quickly looking around. "W-who's there?"

"Amy? Amy, wake up."

Amy suddenly placed the voice. "Game? Is that you?"

"Yes…come on, it's ok…"

Amy began to wake up, though slowly. "Where are you? I…I don't wanna be alone anymore!" She snapped awake, sitting up and breathing heavily.

Game quickly placed a hand on her shoulder. "You ok? I think you were having a nightmare…" Amy looked at him, still shaken up, and tried to speak, though nothing came out. "You were…alone? I hate those kinds of dreams, they're so scary…"

A few tears slid down Amy's face as she finally began to try and explain. "I-it was horrible! S-Sonic was running away…I couldn't chase him…so alone…"

Game was unable to keep from wrapping his arm a little ways around her, rubbing her back. "Poor little love-starved thing…I know how it must feel…you wanna talk about it?"

"I-I don't know…"

"You need to lay down a little longer?"

"NO!! I mean, I don't think I can sleep right now…"

Game had a light bulb go off in his head. "You seem upset…you said strawberry shortcake is a good comfort food for you, and you have plenty left."

"Y…yeah, that sounds good…"

Game handed her the plate she had set down earlier. "You ok? Is there anything I can do?"

"N-no, I don't think so…"

"Amy…" The pink hedgehog slowly looked up and into Game's eyes, her face becoming red again. Game looked back into hers and asked, "You're lying to me…aren't you?"

Amy gave a tiny gasp. 'He can tell?!' she silently panicked.

"Amy, I'm not going to think you're weird or anything. You saw Ed, how could I think you're weird when I know him? Come on, tell me…I wanna help!"

Her voice squeaked a bit as she spoke. "U-um…would you…rub my shoulders again?"

"Of course I will. C'mon, sit down." He gestured toward a stool he had made. "Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?" Amy didn't respond, quietly getting off the bed and taking a seat. Game thought over what he had heard her saying in her sleep. "You really care about Sonic, don't you?"

Amy nodded. "I'll never forget how we met…or the way he saved me from Metal Sonic…"

Game slowly worked away at her shoulders. "Well, maybe you've gotten a little…preoccupied with him? Maybe you should see how you do without him in your life for a while. I mean, he's got you in so many knots…"

She gave a small, absentminded moan as he kept rubbing. "Maybe. In my dream, he was running away again, and something was stopping me from chasing him…it was like my whole body was turning to stone, it was too heavy to move…"

'Too heavy to move…NO, not like that, focus!' Game shook his thoughts aside.

Amy continued, "And then, everything was dark, and I was alone again…"

"You were really scared, weren't you? I would be…" Amy nodded, and Game added, "I can tell you hate being alone, 'cause nightmares like that don't happen to loners." He smiled as he felt Amy almost snuggle her shoulders against his hands. "You really like massages, don't you?"

Amy swallowed hard. "I-it feels really nice…"

"I can tell." He couldn't help but silently note to himself, 'She's kinda cuddly for someone so skinny, and I like how soft her fur feels.' Looking down at his watch, he mentioned, "It's almost breakfast…it's later than I thought it was…we've got juuuust enough time to look around the hotel before it's food time…but if you, uh…want me to, um…your choice." Amy leaned a bit further into his hands. "You're the boss, Amy. Um…listen, if you ever want me…um, to do this again…you can call me with the phone, ok?" He could feel himself sweating bullets, as his nervousness hit a new high.

"R-really?"

"I'd really like to. Erk, um, help make you feel more comfortable."

The pink hedgehog shifted a bit, growing a little uneasy. "Um…there was…one other thing about my dream…" She paused long enough to swallow hard before going on. "When I was alone in the dark, everything felt so cold…b-but then…I-I h-heard…your voice…" Her own voice was high-pitched and squeaky as she spoke the last two words.

Game almost choked on his nervousness as he replied, "It's probably 'cuz I was trying to wake you up…"

"Maybe…b-b-but the thing is…" She paused to swallow again, this time doing it so hard Game could hear it.

"What? You can tell me, it's ok…"

"W-when I heard you…I-I suddenly felt…warm…" Her cheeks heated up as she spoke.

"I'm…I'm touched." He wrapped his arms around her a little. "Maybe…you're just sorta…scared? I don't know what it means, but…you're too nice to be having nightmares like that, Amy."

'W-why does it feel like my heart just skipped a beat?' Amy wondered to herself. "Thank you for everything you've done. No one's ever been so nice to me before…"

Game smiled. "I feel the same way…not a lot of people…y'know, talk to me."

Amy turned around. "But why not? You're so sweet and thoughtful…"

"I…I am?" asked Game, his voice breaking.

Amy blushed a little. "Y-yes, you really are…"

There were several seconds of silence as Game questioned himself on what to do now, finally settling for the only thing he could force out. "Do you wanna, um…do…something now…?"

"L-like what?"

"I…I dunno, we could…look around, and stuff."

"Sure, that sounds nice…"

Game smiled wide. "Ok! So, um…where do you wanna go first?" He quickly noted to himself, 'Be calm, you're making her nervous.'

"Um…I don't know…all I've really seen is my room and the front desk…"

"We'll start with the chao garden, ok?"

Amy's eyes lit up, and she began to act a little like a giddy child. "You have a chao garden?!"

"Yeah! I told you we have chao."

"But you didn't say you had a whole chao garden! I used to spend so much time in the ones back home, chao are just the most adorable things ever!"

"Yeah…they're cute. I'm really glad we have one, too, but I haven't actually had the chance to visit it yet."

Amy quickly slid her boots back on. "Then what are we waiting for?! There's so much I could teach you about them, I've spent so much time around them!"

"Ok. This way, follow me." he said as they walked out the door. Amy followed along, a bit of bounce to her step now. Game was unable to keep his thoughts completely at bay this time. 'I bet…she'd jiggle nice…and she'd be extra soft…' As the two headed down the hall, neither was aware of being watched.

Inside the control room, Steel hadn't taken his eyes away from the security station. Even Greymatter had stopped his work long enough to observe some of what was happening. Steel smiled. "Wow, those two are really getting chummy! I'll bet you five bucks they kiss before breakfast time!"

Greymatter turned around to face him. "No relationship moves that fast. You're on."

"I'll just set the cameras to stay locked on Game's bio-signs, that way we won't miss the big moment…"

"Or lack thereof." Greymatter stated matter-of-factly.

"Fine, I'll be fair. The big moment OR lack thereof. Regardless of what happens, you gotta admit that they look cute together."

"I suppose, but what about the species issue?"

Steel thought for a second. "True. But is you ask me, true love can ignore WHAT you are, 'cause it's all about WHO you are."

"Touching. You should write poetry."

"Think so?"

"Not really." Greymatter hopped back into the machine and got back to work.

Steel quietly asked himself, "Poetry, huh? Wonder if Roll would like that?" Almost as if on cue, a ringing sound suddenly came from his pocket, causing him to jump high in surprise. "YAAAA! Who, what, where, when, PHONE!!" Reaching into his pocket, he quickly pulled the device out, answering it. "Hello?"

"Hi."

There was no mistaking the voice on the line. 'R-R-Roll…' "Hi, Roll! Did you have a good nap?"

"I feel a lot better now, thanks."

"That's great! So, did you want something? I remember you saying you'd like some food after your nap…"

"That would be nice. I sort of want a snack before breakfast…I guess I'm just a little hungry today. Or…whatever the robot version of hungry is…"

Steel chuckled. "I think that'd still be hungry…even if it's not, I still know what you mean. Is there anything in particular you'd like?"

"Um, I don't want too much, it's about breakfast time…maybe some soup?"

A thought crossed Steel's mind. 'Soup…would she…nah, probably too soon…' "Ok, well, we can serve any kind of soup you like, so do you have a preference?"

"Chicken soup? I really don't know, I haven't eaten many different things."

"Chicken soup it is. I'll be right there, ok?"

"Ok. I'll be waiting."

Steel smiled. "I won't keep you that way for long, I promise."

"Thanks!" The line went dead, and Steel shove the phone back into his pocket.

"Well, the camera system's done, and I don't wanna keep her waiting…" He turned and rushed out the door, grabbing the doorframe to help him turn into the hall without slowing down, and took off like a bullet.

*****************************************************************

Is Steel right? Is there love in the air for Amy and Game? And will things continue to work out between him and Roll? Keep reading to find out!


	6. Works in Progress

Greymatter: ...They told me to remind everyone that all characters are property of their respective producers and animators. But let's be honest - I could talk about what I found under the radiator last night and no-one would pay attention. Just go and read your silly story.

* * *

"Here we are!" announced Game as he came to a stop in front of a door. Pushing it open, he politely gestured toward the next room with his hand. "After you."

Amy smiled as she stepped past him and into the next room. She stopped just after leaving the door behind, looking around with wide, bright eyes. There were various ruin-style constructs scattered about that served as playhouses for the chao. At the opposite end of the garden was a larger ruin construct, a replica of the resting place of the Master Emerald, from which Chaos could observe all that went on in the garden and ensure the chao were safe and happy.

There were flowers blooming everywhere, most of which were large enough for the chao to use as seats or even as beds. Trees of all types were all about. Some bore normal fruits, like apples and pears, some bore fruit in shapes like squares and triangles, and some had fruit that couldn't be identified if your life depended on it. In the center of the garden was a large, shallow pool with a little waterfall coming down from some false rocks. And at first glance, it might seem like there was no roof, but further inspection revealed a rim that could extend to form one if need be.

Amy spun around several times, excitedly taking everything in. Game smiled at her. "You like it?" he asked.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I've never seen such a huge chao garden before! It's amazing!"

Game's smile widened. "We spent a lot of time on it. We gathered all sorts of chao eggs…black, white, gold, garnet, Sleepy, Bashful, Doc…" He trailed off as Amy turned to him, face full of confusion. "Eh-heh, just a joke. C'mon, let's look around!" Amy nodded, and followed along, both of them unaware as a nearby security camera turned to follow their movements. "There are just so many of these little guys…they're just so cute!"

Amy scooped a chao up, holding it like a mother holding her child. "Aren't they? Chao are just the most precious little things!" She tickled the small creature for a few seconds, watching as it laughed, before setting it down on one of the flowers. The little chao gave a wave good-bye, then rolled over to take a nap.

Game smiled. "Aww. It looks so comfy there!"

"Yeah. The chao always make me feel peaceful inside…"

"You know, you can keep one as a pet. We already let one of the other guests have one."

Amy's smile widened a bit. "Oh, I would like that, but how would I ever choose just one? Besides, I think I'll be spending lots of time here anyway."

Game nodded. "Yeah…looks like a nice place to just…be, you know? There's food, it's warm, you're never lonely…" he trailed off as he picked up a pink-colored chao that was walking past, beginning to tickle it.

"Yeah…I guess that's why I love the chao gardens so much…having the chao around makes me not feel alone…"

Game paused his play with the chao, smiling nervously. "…Erm, I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Amy looked a little upset, but smiled. "I was just saying that I like being around the chao cause they keep me company…"

"Oh. Well, I can understand that. I mean, they're such nice little things…they always listen, y'know?"

"Yeah. And they play with me, and cheer me up." Amy's voice dropped in volume a good bit as she added, "And they never run away."

"…You're really hurt, aren't you, Amy?"

Amy jumped a little. 'I said that out loud?!' "Um, n-no, I'm fine, really!" She finished her claim with a nervous laugh.

"Amy…please be honest with me." The pink hedgehog looked down, blushing and wringing her hands together nervously. Game reached over, taking one of them, and switching to a firm tone. "Amy, I want to help, but I can't if you don't talk to me."

'My…my heart skipped a beat again…!' she thought as Game continued to hold her hand. "I…I, um…" she trailed off, blushing harder.

"Do you want to wait until later to talk?"

"N…no……I…I-I just…"

Game smiled, setting down the chao he'd picked up. "Let's go sit down." He walked over a few steps to a nearby triangle fruit tree, sitting under it, with Amy following suit.

Game turned to her, looking into her eyes, causing her to tense a little. 'Why does my chest hurt so much? And why does my stomach feel all knotted up?' she silently wondered to herself.

Game noticed the change in her expression and became a bit worried. "Are you hurt? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine!" Amy quickly announced, her voice high-pitched and squeaky. She noticed a sad look overtake Game, and recomposed herself as best she could before going on. "It's just…lately, I've started to think…that I'm the only person that wants someone and doesn't already have them…"

"That's not true, and you know it. Everyone wants someone or something, and can't seem to get it. You're not alone." Amy started to respond, but instead broke into tears, startling Game a bit. "Amy! Please don't cry…if it helps, I don't have anyone either…"

"Y-you don't?" she asked between sniffs.

"No, and I get lonely a lot too, and I…I cry sometimes, too, to be honest…that was a little too much emotional baggage, wasn't it?"

Amy slowly begin to calm down again. "Y…you…r-really cry sometimes?"

"Yeah…I mean, at least you have someone to chase after. I mean, I don't even know where to start."

Amy thought for a second before replying, "B-but what good is having someone to chase i-if they always run away?"

"At least you have something to dream for. I've had nothing…not even the faintest clue of what I want, or who I want…it's really lonely."

Amy looked up at Game again. 'He's…like me. Alone and scared…with no one to make him feel happy…and even so, he's doing everything he can to make me feel happy. …I feel so selfish, I should do something to cheer him up…'

Game went on, "But I know how hard it can be to know what you want and not be able to get it…"

"What is it you want?"

"I really don't know…just…someone to-" he quickly cut himself off, feeling like he had already said too much.

Amy timidly reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Please, you've been so nice to listen to me…I want to listen to you now."

"Well…I've always sorta wanted someone to…well, to hold."

Amy swallowed hard. "Um, y-you know…"

Game could feel the heat crawling into his cheeks. "Y-y-yeah?"

Amy began to blush too, and swallowed even harder, having to nearly force her voice out. "I-I've always wanted to know-what it's like to be h-h-held…"

There was silence for a few seconds as Game processed what she had just said. He still hadn't gotten everything completely straight in his mind before he tried to reply. "You…want me to……me?" He watched as Amy timidly nodded, her whole face now as red as an apple. "Um…o-ok…I'm…I'm just gonna…"

Game slid a bit closer to her, slowly wrapping one of his arms around her. She also began to encircle him with her arms as well, her own thoughts going crazy. 'My heart's pounding, it feels like it's gonna break outta my ribcage!'

Game placed his other arm around the pink hedgehog, pulling her a bit closer, his mind working in overtime. 'I'm gonna pass out…she's so soft…' "So…this is…what it's like…"

"Y-yeah…i-it is…"

Game smiled, looking down at Amy. "You're…really nice, Amy…I mean, you're a really nice person…" He watched as she tilted her head to look up at him, their eyes meeting. Without saying anything, Amy began to inch closer, while Game's eyes slowly closed, until they felt their lips met. If it wasn't for Amy being in the way, Game likely would have gone blasting through the roof like a rocket from his excitement. 'So…so wonderful…! I never wanna let go…so soft! So…such a nice…there aren't words to describe it…'

Amy was sharing in Game's excitement. 'I feel like I'm turning into water…! I don't want this to end! It's the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced!'

The two remained lip-locked for the better part of a full minute, finally pulling away for air. Game was the first to speak. "Wow…Amy, I…I never thought…my first kiss would be with a hedgehog…or that nice…"

"T-that was your first kiss too?"

"Yeah…I told you people didn't…talk to me…"

Amy rested her head on Game's chest, nuzzling into it. "From now on, someone will…"

"You…! You mean you…and I…too…can't talk right…" he stuttered.

Amy smiled wide. "You've made me so happy, and you're so sweet and caring and kind and thoughtful…I wanna stay with you forever…"

"Well…I've…had a lot of fun even just talking with you, and…you're pretty, and you've got a really nice personality…I'd love to have you as a…you know…" Game paused, swallowing hard and forcing himself to finish his sentence. "As a…girlfriend?"

"Ok."

Game's face lit up. "You…you mean it? You, and…I?"

Without looking up at him, Amy responded, "I just have one teeny little condition…"

"A-anything you want, anything at all!"

She blushed again as she turned to look into his eyes again. "I want YOU to kiss ME this time…" Even though Game had kissed back, it was Amy that had leaned in last time.

"You do? I think I can manage that…" Game slowly moved in, shaking just a little at first. 'I don't have to be nervous…she likes me, she's my girlfriend…I have to make her happy.' he noted to himself, and became a bit steadier, pressing his lips against Amy's. As they kissed for the second time, Game couldn't help but notice a new feeling. 'I…I kinda feel secure with her holding me like this…almost…strong…'

After a good while, Game pulled away once again. He looked squarely into Amy's green eyes, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Amy…I know we haven't known each other long, but…I think…I love you…"

Amy began to cry a little in happiness as she hugged Game tightly. "I love you, too!"

Game hugged back. "I just love…how affectionate you can be, like this…and how fun you are to talk to, and…I'm sure I'll find a lot more things to like about you…h-h-…honey…" His face flushed a deep crimson as he spoke the last word.

Amy snuggled into him a bit. "You're so kind and thoughtful, I wanna be with you always…"

"You can be…you can stay here forever, if you want."

"That sounds wonderful…"

The two were just beginning to get closer again when a nearby intercom speaker came to life, the voice of Kawasaki coming over it. "Breakfast is served!"

Game jumped a bit, looking over at the speaker. "That…sorta scared me…" He turned back to Amy as he heard the sound of her tummy growling, unable to refrain from giggling a little.

"I-I guess…all that tension being released kinda made me hungry…" she offered, laughing nervously a little.

"It's ok. You can have as much food as you want, I'll make sure of it."

The female hedgehog shifted a little, seeming nervous again. "Um…w-would you…maybe…carrymetobreakfast?"

Game looked at her in amazement. "I…I was just about to ask if I could!"

"Really?"

Game pulled her close, smiling warmly. "I didn't wanna let go…" He stood, and Amy climbed into his arms, bridal style. "You…you must take really good care of your fur, Amy…you're soft…" He blushed again, looking at her like a deer in the headlights.

"I-I…thank you……I'm so happy it doesn't bother you that we're different species…"

"I never really thought of it that way, really. People put too many labels on everything…and we make each other happy, r-right?" Amy nodded vigorously, and Game smiled. "C'mon, let's get you something to eat!"

Meanwhile, during the time in which this had taken place…

Steel came to a stop outside of the door to one of the many rooms, pushing the cart he'd brought to one side and grabbing the bowl of soup off it. He took a second to recompose himself before knocking.

"Come in!" Called a voice on the other side.

Steel opened the door, stepping inside. "Um, hi Roll! I-I brou-" He cut himself off as he noticed that Roll was busy sweeping. "R-Roll, what are you doing? We have people to take care of things like this for you!"

The robotic girl looked up from her work. "I…I know, it's just that I feel kind of like dead weight when I'm not sweeping or something…"

At the phrase 'dead weight', Steel's eyes widened a bit. He quickly tossed his thoughts aside, however, as this was not the time or place for them. "Y-you're not anything like that. The whole purpose of being in a hotel is to relax and let others worry about your needs…"

"I guess. It's just…force of habit, you know?"

Steel smiled a little and nodded. "I understand. Um…did you want your soup now?"

"Oh yeah…sure."

"W-well then…here you go…" He offered the bowl to her, which she took.

There was a pause before Roll spoke up again. "So…I dunno, I guess we could just talk…we don't know each other all that well, after all…it's been a long time since…you know…"

Steel quickly blocked out the memory of his past accident. "Um, yeah…I'd like that."

Roll took a seat on the nearby couch, quickly searching her computerized brain for a place to start. "So…um…how have you been?"

"Good. The hotel can be…rather demanding, but the rewards will be worth it soon enough, I'm sure."

Roll tilted her head to one side. "Rewards?"

'EEDIOT!' Steel mentally scolded himself. "Uh, y-you know…customer satisfaction, reviews, ect…"

"Oh. …Well, sounds sort of dull, but I guess it's not my place to question it, huh?"

"Well, we each live for our own purposes. So, um, how about you? Things been ok around Dr. Light's lab?"

She nodded. "Dr. Wily's been pretty quiet lately…he's probably planning something, but…"

Steel chuckled. "Isn't that the ONLY time he's quiet?"

"I guess." Roll responded with a weak laugh.

"Well…how have YOU been?"

"Just fine. Sort of tired to be honest, I guess the routine's been getting to me…"

Steel gave a wide smile. "Well, you have plenty of time to rest here…as long as you can get past your need to clean." He gave a nervous laugh as he mentioned the last part.

Roll finally took a bite of the soup, with Steel watching intently, though she didn't notice. "This is very good! The chicken is very fresh."

"R-r-really?"

Roll took note of Steel's stuttering, as well as the fact that his eyes had lit up a bit. "Yeah…did you make it?"

Steel blushed a little as he slowly admitted, "Oh, um…yeah…"

She smiled. "Then you're a very good chef, Steel. The noodles are cooked just right, too. Not too firm, but not too limp…I sound like a gourmet or something." If it were possible for her, she would have blushed.

"I'm really glad you like it. I was kinda nervous 'cause that's the first thing I've made around here…Kawasaki practically skinned me for using his cookware…"

Roll looked down at the bowl of soup before looking back at Steel again. "Really? This is very good for something you've never made before. Thanks."

Steel shifted a bit. "Um, by the way, I kinda wanted to…ya know, apologize about earlier…"

"For what?"

"I shouldn't have grabbed your wrist like I did…I'm sorry…"

Roll shook her head. "It's nothing, really! It…sort of snapped me out of it."

"W-well then, I'm glad, but…I'll try not to do that again. It was a bit much, especially since we just got back on good terms…I'd hate to lose that again…"

"Me too…especially since-" She cut herself off, panicking a little. 'I can't tell him I know!'

Steel looked up at her. "Especially since what?"

"Um…since it's…so nice here! I wouldn't want you to get angry with me while I'm living here."

Steel felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped onto him. He gave a nervous laugh as he responded, "Oh…y-yeah, that wouldn't do, I guess…"

Seeking a way to change the subject, Roll quickly asked, "So…um…what do you do for fun here?"

"Well, I showed you the Safari Zone, and you said the pool's no good for you…the only other thing that leaves right now is the chao garden. But soon we'll also have an arcade, a theater, and even a whole mall!"

The robotic girl smiled. "A mall sounds nice. Will it have an electronics store?"

Steel chuckled. "Considering who the main builder is, I'd bet my soul on it…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Just a little inside joke…Game would've gotten it…but anyway, yeah, it will."

"That sounds nice. I could use a new chassis, come to think of it. …Or at least a new paint job…"

Steel's expression changed to confusion. "Paint job?"

"I dunno, I've had this one for so long. At least get a different shade of red, you know?"

"Oh…I always thought that was actual clothes that could come off…"

Roll sighed. "I could do that, but I'd have to uninstall my entire chassis…sort of a hassle…"

Steel's eyes suddenly began to widen. "W-wait…wouldn't that mean…" He quickly slapped a hand over his eyes, blocking his sight. 'DON'T THINK THAT WAY!' he screamed at himself within his mind.

"Is something wrong?" Roll inquired somewhat nervously.

Steel swallowed hard before replying. "Um…please forgive me, there's really no right way to say this, but…um…w-wouldn't that mean…that you're technically…nude?"

Roll took a look at herself. "…Um, well I guess so. I mean, I'd never thought of it that way…"

"It doesn't bother me or anything, but most guys are lucky to see the light of day after seeing a girl undressed without permission, so I feel a little like a pervert or something…"

"It doesn't really bother me…"

"W-well, if you're o-ok with it…" Steel pulled his hand away from his face, quickly forcing his mind to focus.

"It's…it's nothing, really. I'm used to it."

"Um, y-yeah, sorry. Guess it's just a human sorta thing…" Roll suddenly stopped eating, freezing in place. Steel noticed and began to panic. 'I should NOT have said that…'

"I…I guess it is. …Listen, I'm gonna…take another quick nap, ok?"

Steel hung his head a little, picking up the vibe that she just wanted to be alone now. "Well, if you're sure. But don't sleep too long, 'cause it'll be breakfast time soon, ok?"

"Sure, I'll be there."

Steel walked over to the door and opened it, but paused before going out and turned back around to face her. "Roll? If you ever wanna just talk or anything, call me, ok? I know you're used to being a helper and playing a behind the scenes role, but…you're a guest here…and much more importantly, you're my friend. I'm available anytime you need something, alright?"

Roll forced a weak smile. "That means a lot to me, Steel. I'm glad I'm not in the way or anything…I'll talk to you later, ok?" Steel nodded and left, shutting the door behind him. Roll set the bowl of soup aside and took a quick look at the window. 'I'd love to confide in you, Steel, but…I'm not even really sure WHAT I'm thinking…I mean, is being a robot…bothering me all of a sudden? It never did before…'

Steel walked a short distance down the hall before taking a swing at the air, as though trying to make contact with some invisible force. His mind was already warming up a long lecture. 'Way to TOTALLY SCREW THAT UP, YOU STU-PID EEDIOT!!' As his mind continued its rant, he found his way back into the control room, taking a seat at one of the terminals, and with no warning, brought his head down hard onto the keyboard there.

"Any particular reason you just typed 'fghtsfg'?" inquired Greymatter, who hadn't turned around from his work, but had seen the screen.

"That would be because my head's what hit the keyboard…" Steel explained.

"And you did that because…?"

Steel sighed. "I'm pretty damn sure I just completely, totally, and without a doubt, obliterated my chances at things moving forward any time soon…or any time PERIOD."

Greymatter didn't show it, but he couldn't help but be amused that Steel even knew words like 'obliterated', much less knew how to use them. His silent chuckles were halted, though, as Steel brought his head down on the keyboard again. "And damaging your last lonely brain cell like that calms you? Honestly, how is sulking going to help?"

Steel lifted his head. "I dunno why doing this calms me, but it does…not much, though. But I suppose you're right that sulking won't help…but knowing that doesn't really make things any easier, either…"

Greymatter thought for a moment. "I suppose this has something to do with the robot girl."

"PLEASE don't say 'robot'…"

"And I'm guessing THAT means she's self-conscious about being a robot."

"To be honest, I don't know. I just know that……on second thought, maybe I shouldn't tell you, even you'd probably slap me…"

The Galvan raised an eye curiously before continuing. "Well, if you don't say anything, you're going to be sitting on this for a while, am I right?"

"…Well, it all really started when she mentioned wanting to get a new paint job…"

"Reasonable enough. I suppose one would get tired of one's appearance after a while, organic or otherwise…"

Steel nodded. "But, I had to go and make a fool of myself by mentioning that her 'clothes' only being a paint job means, technically speaking, she's nude…" The tiny alien immediately shot Steel a condescending look as he kept listening. "Anywho, she said that even though she'd never thought of it that way before, she was used to it and it didn't bother her, and then-"

"You mean to say it gets worse than that?!"

Steel paused, looking very guilty as he continued, "I said that my 'problem' with that fact was probably a human thing, and when I said that…"

Greymatter sighed. "She either blew up on you or suddenly became very introverted."

"Intro-whated?"

"Quiet and contemplative."

"Con-tem…well, she got quiet, so I'll just say it was that one. She seemed almost happy a couple of times, but after I said that, she suddenly stopped eating and said she wanted to take another nap."

"She likely wanted you to leave, but didn't want to outright throw you out of her room." the brainy alien explained.

"Which basically amounts to 'I screwed up big-time', right?"

"Pretty much." Steel groaned and slammed his head into a nearby screen. "Oh, come off it. Damaging the equipment with your think skull isn't going to solve anything."

Steel didn't pull away from the screen, however, taking note of what it was showing. "Hmmm?! …No way…"

Greymatter sighed in full frustration. "My, what a tiny attention span we have…"

He jumped a little, though, as Steel suddenly turned to face him, holding out his hand and grinning in a goofy sort of way. "Pay up!"

"What are you talking about?"

Steel pointed at the screen, and Greymatter was struck speechless by the image on it. It was the security feed from the chao garden, showing Game and Amy as they kissed beneath one of the trees. "You owe me five bucks, remember?" Steel shot at him.

Greymatter silently gulped. "Why don't I simply help you out of your little problem instead?"

"You can do that?!" exclaimed a now VERY happy Steel.

'Thank god, I don't have five dollars…' thought the Galvan. "I most certainly can."

Steel snagged the alien in one hand, shaking him a bit. "TELL ME! TELL ME!"

"Pu-u-u-u-t me dow-ow-ow-own…" exclaimed Greymatter, his voice having a vibrating effect to it. Steel blushed a little in embarrassment as he set his much smaller friend back onto the panel. "Now then, to begin with, you should obviously keep this sort of thing from troubling her again…"

"Um, I may not be all that bright, but even I could figure that out…"

"I'm not taking any chances." Greymatter shot back. "Second, you should find a good time to sit her down and talk this through. Talking through an issue like this is the only way to solve it." He watched Steel nod, then went on. "She'll likely be rather insecure, which is why you must be strong for her…or at least come off as strong…"

Steel gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head. 'If only you knew…' he quickly mused to himself before asking, "Anything else?"

"While you're talking to her, you should probably try to find out what would make her more secure in being a robot. We can't make her human, after all." He paused for several seconds before adding, "Well, we could, but it would take roughly a month and carry about an 85% chance of failure…"

"If the chances of failure are that high, then I'll take her as a robot, thank you."

"Mm-hmm. So, you should find out what bothers her about being a robot, and strive to correct those problems."

Steel looked to be deep in thought. "Well, the only thing I know of for now, assuming my brain's actually processing things correctly, is that she may have a problem with the things that can be seen that make it clear she's a robot…"

Greymatter nodded approvingly. "Then do something about that."

"But…how do I change that? The reflection of light off of and coldness of her 'skin' make it obvious that she's made of metal…and, as of now, it may bother her that she doesn't wear clothes…though I guess that one wouldn't be hard to fix…"

"Cyber-skin." interjected Greymatter.

Steel's eyes widened. "That would make her skin feel like a human's, and it would hide her joints and all that…"

"Mm-hmm…a coating of cyber-skin, properly applied, would grant her the feeling of having skin and render her mechanical parts unseen, as well as present a reason for her to wear clothes."

"Yeah…only thing is, that stuff's mostly just used for, um…well, things for those eighteen and up…so it's not like we have any around here…"

Greymatter sat down. "Hmm. All we have is a dimensional teleporter with access to a vast multitude of worlds…you're right, I don't think we're going to be able to go through with this."

Steel growled. "For the record, my mind may be slow, but that doesn't mean I'm just plain dumb…"

"I'll begin searching for the closest universe with a plastic surgeon, surely they'd have some."

"I guess so. Oh, look, guess it's breakfast time…awww, Game's carrying Amy to breakfast! So cute!" In a flash, the smile that momentarily formed on Steel's face was gone.

Greymatter quietly said to himself, "And here comes the 'why-can't-that-be-me' speech…"

"WHY CAN'T THAT BE ME WITH ROLL?!!"

"Followed by the beating-self-up phase…" Steel snagged a nearby box and slammed it against his head. "Followed swiftly by more sulking and a pathetic exit…"

"Hey, what is this? …It's addressed to me…" asked Steel, taking a better look at the box he'd grabbed.

Greymatter almost fell over in surprise. "Or not…"

"Wait……no, it couldn't be…" He began to recklessly tear into the box, tossing the packing contents to the floor as he dug for the true contents. "YAY! IT CAME!!"

"Oh joy. …What is it?" Even as he asked, the Galvan wasn't sure he wanted to know. He watched as Steel proudly held up what looked like the controller for a Wii. "Wonderful, video games. As if your mind hasn't rotted enough."

Steel fell, anime-style. "VIDEO GAMES?! And you call me small-minded." He pressed one of the buttons on the device, and a blue-colored blade of light extended from one end.

"Oh joy, annoying movie references. When does it end?" Greymatter noted a small crack in the fourth wall, and reminded himself to fix it later.

"Actually, it does much more. Watch." Steel shut off the energy blade, and pointed the remote at the remainder of the box it had come in. Pressing another button, he lifted the box into the air as though doing so through telepathic powers.

"Alright, I suppose it is a nice little toy, but why did you-"

"Game said find my own superpower, huh? I'll show him superpower, alright!"

"…First your coworkers, then the world, right?"

Steel laughed nervously. "Sorry. As someone once said, 'You do not know the power of the Dark Side'…anywho, this'll really be a big help around here. Not in the same way as Game's stylus blade, but helpful nonetheless."

"I'm sure it will." responded Greymatter, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I'm sure I'll get lots of use out of it, but I have plenty of time to toy with it. You got anything else you wanna say?" He stuck the remote into one of his pockets as he asked.

"Just that you should think about whether or not you're going to tell Roll about this."

"About what?"

This time, it was Greymatter that underwent the anime-style fall. "About the thing we were discussing before you found your toy."

"……I knew that…and I'm sure I will, but…I gotta be careful about how and when I approach this, right?" Greymatter nodded. "Well, Roll is very important to me, but I kinda think maybe I'll go focus on something else for awhile…work off some of this stress and anxiousness."

"I was about to suggest that."

"I'll go find Game. I wanna congratulate him on what happened…and maybe he can offer a couple more tips…and I need to check on Double D's progress…see you later!" He walked out the door, leaving Greymatter to sigh and shake his head in disbelief as he went back to working on the machine.

And elsewhere, as the call was given for breakfast…

A tired and still mostly asleep Flonne shifted a bit, speaking sleepily. "Five more minutes…" Colette shifted a bit when Flonne did, as Flonne was still laying on her stomach. This was enough to get the fallen angel awake. "Mmm? …Colette…? Colette, I think we gotta get up now."

Colette stirred a bit, her eyes cracking open. "Hmm…wha?"

"Morning, sleepyhead." Flonne smiled.

Colette rubbed her eyes. "Hmm? Oh, good morning, Flonne!"

"Wow, we really overdid it last night, didn't we?"

Colette stretched a bit as Flonne got off of her. Her tummy had shrunk a bit since last night's stuffing, but was still big enough to slightly lift her shirt, showing a thin line of skin. It had also gotten noticeably softer, which Flonne had noticed, and she watched happily as Colette's stretching caused the exposed section of her tummy to jiggle just a bit. "Yeah, a little, I guess…but it was fun, too!"

Flonne smiled wide. "Yeah! I was thinking we'd overdo it tonight, too. And the next night, and the next night, and the next night…"

Colette giggled. "That sounds like fun! I really enjoyed watching the movie, and I'd like to see more!"

"And I've never eaten that much before in my life!"

"But first, we were gonna see the chao garden today, right?" As she asked, Flonne's chao companion crawled out from under the couch and made a happy sound of agreement.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Flonne as she bounced to her feet, her noticeably bigger than yesterday rear end bouncing a good bit as she did. As soon as she did, Riolu jumped out from under the couch, and onto the place on Colette's tummy where Flonne had been laying.

Colette smiled. "Riolu's excited too! I bet he's gonna be friends with all the chao!"

Flonne smirked as she looked at the young aura pokemon, which was cuddling its way into Colette's belly. "I think he just wanted my spot."

Colette watched as Riolu made a sound somewhat like purring as he continued to snuggle in. "I guess you're right. But you can't blame him, I bet it's nice and warm there from you laying there all night!"

'And it's even comfier than last night…' Flonne added in her mind. Suddenly, a thought struck her like lightning from a clear sky. "Uh-oh! I think we're gonna miss breakfast! And I want more food!"

"I'm kinda hungry too. Which is kinda weird, huh? I didn't think I would be after eating so much last night…"

"All we need to do here is eat and sleep! Why analyze it?"

"I guess you're right!" Colette hopped up as well, her tummy jiggling as she did so. Riolu somehow managed to hold on, not being knocked off even once Colette was fully upright.

"How much did we eat last night, anyway?" asked Flonne, sounding like she was talking about sports scores.

"Um…between both of us, I think we ate like 100 or so of those different candies you had…and about 30 bottles of soda…who knew soda had so many flavors?" Colette giggled a bit at her own question.

"I say we have a soda drinking contest tonight!"

"Ok! I bet I can beat you if I just eat like I did last night…"

"Bring it on!" shouted Flonne excitedly.

Suddenly, Colette's tummy growled, the sound startling Riolu, who let go of her and fell to the floor. "Um…but first, breakfast and the chao garden!"

Flonne nodded her approval. "Absolutely! I wonder what we're having?" The two stepped into the halls, finding a pair of yoshis standing next to the door, waiting for them. "Yay! I was starting to miss my couch, now I get to sit down again!" cheered Flonne, as though her couch were miles away as opposed to the twenty or so feet it actually was.

As the girls mounted the Yoshis, Colette mentioned, "They told me that the Yoshis carry us anywhere we wanna go anytime we wanna go there!" As she finished getting on, Riolu jumped up with her, having no intention of being left behind.

The fallen angel chao quickly joined Flonne on her mount. "Really? Sweet!" Flonne smiled wide at the thought of being able to be carried all around whenever she wanted.

The first Yoshi, the one Flonne was on, turned to the second and grinned. (Race ya!) it dared, getting ready.

(You're on!) the second shot back, getting ready as well. Both took off with no warning, almost losing their riders when they first started moving, quickly reaching breakneck speeds. Flonne cheered like a little kid ridding a roller coaster for the first time, while Colette giggled and held on tight as the Yoshis sharply turned a corner, heading toward the dining room.

Meanwhile, in a different dimension…

A man sat down hard into a seat, giving a disgusted sigh. His features were on the portly side, and somewhat round, aside from his almost stick-thin legs. He wore black pants and shoes, with a red shirt that had white and yellow trims on it. He had a large, bushy moustache that stuck straight out to each side, and the skin of his nose was different than the skin of the rest of his face, making it look as though it didn't really belong there. His eyes were hidden behind tinted glasses.

"I just don't understand…!" he growled to himself, looking at the screen in front of him. "There's no doubt that this is where the Chaos Emeralds went, but why can't I go after them?!"

He rose from his seat, walking over to a device that was holding open a portal. "I've already managed to establish a connection, and my observation robots have already allowed me to confirm that the link is stable, yet I can't go through it." He began to play with some of the controls, examining a variety of read-outs.

He suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. 'Huh…I suddenly have the feeling I'm being watched…' But he put the thought out of his mind as he turned back to the screen he had been in front of a moment ago. As he took a seat, he brought his fists down upon the panel in front of him, venting a bit of his anger.

"I'll find a way through yet! No one can match wits with the genius of Dr. Eggman!" He began to type almost furiously at the controls. Had he looked back again, though, he might have noticed as a figure glided down from the ceiling and through the portal he'd left open.

Within the control room of the hotel, the same figure quickly jumped up toward the ceiling again, just before Greymatter could notice it. When the Galvan's back was turned, it glided out the door and back up to the ceiling in the hall. As the figure began to move down the hall, remaining unseen, it gave a giggle that could identify it as being female.

"So sorry, Egg-head, but if anyone's gonna get those Chaos Emeralds, it's gonna be me! Now then, if I were a Chaos Emerald, where would I be hiding?" The mysterious figure crept down the hall and turned the corner, beginning her search for the intended prize.

It looks like smooth sailing for Amy and Game, and with breakfast fast approaching, the angels are likely to stuff themselves again. But what's going to happen between Roll and Steel? And much more importantly, who is this mystery figure, and what's going to happen if she takes the Chaos Emeralds, which are powering the dimensional traveling machine? The only way to find out is to stay tuned!


	7. All's Fair in Love and SelfDefense

Rouge: All characters used here are property of their respective owners. Except for me. I belong to no man. (wink)

* * *

A prinny slowly made its way down the hall, quickly jumping aside as a pair of yoshis came tearing around the corner. The two dinos were neck and neck, sprinting like mad toward the dining room door.

"WHEEEEEEE!" shouted Flonne, being daring enough to have taken her hands off the yoshi. Colette had her eyes closed, enjoying the feel of moving at the yoshis current speed, and Riolu had climbed onto her shoulder, and looked like he was cheering.

With no warning, the yoshis switched to brakes, sliding down the hall while making the sound of screeching tires, and leaving behind rubber marks from their shoes that were joined by flames from the resulting friction. When they came to a full stop, both had their noses just barely touching the door of the dining room.

(I won!) cheered the first yoshi.

(No way, I won!)

(Are you kidding? I didn't even see you in that last stretch, you were so far behind!)

Because neither of the angels spoke the language of the yoshis, they were unaware that the dinos were arguing. Both hopped off their mounts, heading through the door. "So, what do you think we're having?" asked Colette.

Flonne shrugged her shoulders. "I just hope it has lotsa sugar."

Turning around at the sound of the door opening, Kawasaki smiled wide. "Oh, good morning ladies! All ready for breakfast, I see!"

"What is it? What, what? Tell me!" exclaimed Flonne, quickly becoming more excited by the second.

"Cinnamon rolls!" the Dream Land chef replied.

"Yay! I want seven!"

Colette smiled. "I'll have eight, please!"

Flonne glanced sideways at Colette before adding, "And I want a big glass of, um…chocolate milk! No, two!"

"Three glasses for me! Um…what is chocolate milk, anyway?" Colette sweat-dropped as she asked.

'Oh, so she wants to fight, does she?' thought Flonne, giving her best impression of an evil little smile, though it came off far more as cute than evil. "And I'll have, um…I know! Give me a glass of the icing, too!"

'Icing?' Colette silently wondered. "Me too, please!"

Kawasaki quickly rushed into the kitchen to work on preparing the girls orders as they continued to go back and forth, each trying to out do the other.

Meanwhile, back out in the hall, Game was approaching the dining room, with Amy still in his arms. "We're almost there…"

The pink hedgehog snuggled against him some. "You're so sweet to carry me like this."

Game smiled wide, though it vanished as he rounded a corner and took in the sight left over from Flonne and Colette's race. Not only was there evidence that there had been flames, and a fire extinguisher used, but the yoshis fight had reached the point that they were throwing eggs at each other.

The pair sweat-dropped as they looked over the chaos. "Sorry Amy, looks like I have to take care of this…" He delicately set her down. "You head on in and get all settled, ok? I'll be in as soon as I'm done here."

Amy nodded and walked toward the door. As she did, the prinny from earlier came rushing past, holding the fire extinguisher that presumably had been used in the hall already. "D00D!" it shouted in fear as a stray egg slammed into it, causing it to explode.

Game looked at the yoshis, now very concerned. "Guys, just what kinda eggs are you using? He had twelve-hundred HP left!"

Amy took one last look back at Game before pushing open the door and entering the dining room, noticing a pair of girls sitting at one of the tables, still in the middle of their heated competition.

"And I'll have two of that, too!" declared Flonne.

"I'll take two also, please!" replied Colette.

'Whoa, who are these two? And what are they all uptight about?' wondered Amy to herself, continuing to listen.

"Whatever you want, I can cook anything in a jiffy!" shouted Kawasaki from the kitchen.

"Fine, then I'll just have whatever you can make in the next five minutes." stated Flonne in a matter-of-fact way, crossing her arms in satisfaction.

Colette looked nervous for a second, but recovered. "I'll take whatever you can make in six minutes!" she called out, smiling in a way that seemed to say 'top that'.

Amy sweat-dropped again as Flonne leaned toward Colette a little. "SEVEN!" the fallen angel yelled.

"EIGHT!" Colette shot back.

"Um…excuse me?" Amy timidly asked, trying to get the girls' attention.

"FIVE! …Wait…" Flonne sweat-dropped as she realized her mistake.

"Yay!" cheered Colette. "Eight's more than five, I win!"

Amy spoke a bit louder this time. "Excuse me?"

"Fine, I'll just have twice what you're having!" retorted Flonne.

"No, I'm gonna have twice what YOU'RE having!" Colette countered.

'Ok, patience running thin…' thought Amy.

Flonne leaned a bit over the table as she went on. "Well, I'll just have three times your two times!"

Colette followed Flonne's example and leaned a bit over the table as well. "Then I'll have four times your three times my two times…wait, what?"

Flonne thought for a second. "Um, I'm really bad at math, but I think that means 24 times…"

Colette put the question aside. "You know what? It doesn't matter, let's just eat until we can't eat anymore, and the winner is whoever ate more!"

"Fine!" Flonne quickly agreed, suddenly noticing something. "Hey, why'd it get dark?" The two turned just in time to watch as Amy brought her hammer down on the table, causing what food was already on it to jump up and spill all over both angels. "Heeeey! What was that for?"

Amy huffed. "I've been trying to get your attention for awhile now, don't you know it's rude to ignore someone?"

Flonne sweat-dropped while smiling nervously. "Oops! Um, I'm sorry, I guess I didn't see you there…"

Amy took one last heavy breath while putting away her hammer. "Now then, I was wanting to ask: what are you two arguing about?"

Flonne paused before sheepishly admitting, "I don't really know."

"I forgot too…" Colette shyly added.

Amy slightly rolled her eyes in annoyance. "In that case, my next question is: what's for breakfast?"

Flonne ignored Amy, having become too interested in trying to lick some icing off her elbow. Colette was the one to answer. "The chef said cinnamon rolls…I hope there's more since all we had are kinda dirty now…"

Suddenly becoming aware of exactly what her actions had lead to, Amy sweat-dropped. "Um…I'm really sorry about that…"

"Nah, being dirty is kinda fun!" Flonne cheerfully replied, clearly having no clue just how wildly such a statement could be misinterpreted. "Come on, I know I can beat you both at…um…Colette, what were we doing again?"

"Um…having breakfast, I think?" replied the angel.

'What's with these two?' Amy nervously wondered to herself.

Flonne smiled wide. "Oh, now I remember, we were gonna see who could eat the most."

Colette smiled as well. "Oh yeah! I can!"

"We'll just see, then! This is gonna be so much fun!" the fallen angel shot back.

Amy took a nervous step backwards. 'Ok, Amy…just say nothing, and slowly back away from the crazy people…'

Colette rose from her seat. "Let's get some more food and get started!" Flonne got up as well, nodding happily. Amy, meanwhile, found herself a seat on the far side of the room from the two.

As the two began to haul several plates pilled with cinnamon rolls back over to their table, Flonne mentioned, "I'm having so much fun here, aren't you?"

Colette nodded. "I sure am! I'm so happy I was invited to come here!"

"Me too." stated Flonne as she set down a plate. "There's so much to do, and I met you!"

Amy's ears perked up a little as she listened to the conversation. 'Wait…they were both invited, too? Is this hotel only by invite or something?'

Colette added another plate to the table. "Yeah, I'm really glad I met you, too! We're gonna be best friends!"

The two finally took their seats again, satisfied that the amount of food on the table would be enough. Flonne practically shoved her face into a plate, eating like an animal. Colette wasn't willing to follow that example, so she settled for shoveling the rolls into her mouth as quickly as she could by hand. After several seconds of tearing through the food on her current plate, Flonne paused to snag her glass of icing and began to chug it down. It was hard to miss that her whole face was now solid white from having been shoved into the plate of icing-covered rolls.

Suddenly, Riolu hopped up onto the table. He could sense Colette's desire to win through her aura, and was now intent on helping her. Before Colette could even respond, the young pokemon had picked up a plate of rolls, forced her mouth open, and begun to dump them in, albeit with some difficulties.

"Blo flair!" Flonne managed despite her VERY full mouth.

Riolu looked at her and 'barked', grabbing a glass of milk and beginning to pour it down Colette's throat. Her neck could be seen pulsing a bit in front with each gulp, Riolu almost forgetting to stop long enough to allow her to breathe. Meanwhile, having no intention of losing, Flonne used her tail to grab her glass of icing and pour it into her mouth while using her hands to shovel buns in as well, her entire body now covered in the sweet, sticky icing.

Colette and Riolu both growled, and Colette snagged another plate while Riolu grabbed another glass. While Colette dumped buns into her mouth, Riolu poured milk in on top, which happened to make chewing and swallowing the buns easier, so Colette was able to tear through this plate's worth with no problems. But Flonne still had a trick up her sleeve, and in a fit of pique, she threw herself onto the largest remaining pile of buns on the table. 'Feeding frenzy' would be the only phrase to come to mind if one were to look into her eyes right now…assuming you could see them through the icing covering her.

Looking as though he had been struck by inspiration, Riolu jumped down from the table and rushed off into the kitchen. While he was gone, Colette did her best to keep up with Flonne's eating rate. As for Flonne, she paused in her eating just long enough to let out a burp that rattled the foundations of the hotel. Her desire to eat as much as possible was preventing her from noticing that her expanding gut was beginning to push some of the food off the sides of the table.

Colette had just begun to use her entire arm to rake the buns into her mouth, while reaching for another glass of milk, when Riolu reappeared. He was carrying a hose, though where he got it was unclear. Rushing over to a vat marked 'icing', he quickly hooked the hose to it, then he rushed over to Colette, offering her the other end. Flonne had been too busy eating to see Riolu at first, but had noticed him now, and was beginning to move herself toward Colette, intending to take the hose for herself.

Riolu quickly made sure Flonne couldn't reach it, then jammed it into Colette's mouth, rushing back over to the vat. Taking a firm grip on the valve, he turned it until it was completely opened. Colette's eyes widened a bit as the raging torrent of icing began to gush into her mouth and almost effortlessly slide down her throat…she almost didn't need to even bother with swallowing! As she quickly gulped down the sticky white fluid, she was beginning to feel a slight strain in her already pushed to the limits belly.

Flonne reached out again, taking a weak hold on the hose. Colette still intended to win, so she quickly bit down on the end in her mouth, not letting go. As she held on, her eyes slid shut, but not because she was trying to keep the hose in her mouth…it was because her tummy was in a good deal of pain as of this point. Flonne began to tug at the hose, now acting out of gluttony rather than a desire to win. In a clumsy attempt to get the hose for herself, Flonne fell off the table and right onto poor Colette's stomach, causing her to release the hose with a yelp of pain.

The hose began to flop about freely, spraying icing everywhere. Riolu saw it leave Colette's mouth and shut the valve as quickly as he could, but it wasn't fast enough to prevent the entire room from becoming covered in the stuff…Amy had ducked beneath her table just in time to avoid becoming part of the mess. Colette was able to keep herself quiet, but her face alone showed the level of pain she was now in between stuffing herself and Flonne being on top of her. Noticing, Flonne weakly called out, "Medicine…please…?"

A moogle hurried out of the kitchen with two glasses of what looked like water, offering them to the girls, his eyes as big as his pompom due to his disbelief that they'd eaten so much. Flonne quickly drank one glass, then helped Colette drink the other, the look of pain in her face fading a little, but not going away just yet. Flonne smiled, her stretched tummy flopping onto her legs as she exclaimed, "That…was…a blast!"

"Y-yeah…that was fun…" Colette weakly replied. Her tummy was now big enough that her bellybutton was easily exposed, her shirt no longer able to reach down far enough to cover it even when her arms were down. There were several visible stretch marks on it as well, and any movement of it was curious due to the nature of the icing inside it. Flonne's own tummy was close to the size of Colette's, though a bit smaller, and had much the same curious texture and movement. Her red undershirt was also beginning to rip a good deal, it was something of a wonder it hadn't torn off yet.

Amy slowly climbed back out from under the table where she had found safety from the icing-spraying hose. Looking around at the mess in the room, her gaze stopped as she took note of the other two girls, quickly turning away. 'I…I think…I'm going to be sick…ugh…'

Colette took a look at her swollen midsection. "I guess the chao garden's gonna have to wait a bit…I feel like I can't even move, I'm so full!"

Flonne smiled wide. "I think it's kinda nice. The pressure sorta feels good. And the ground is a lot softer than it looks, I feel like I'm sitting on a cushion!"

Colette sweat-dropped. "Um…F-Flonne? You're actually…sitting on me."

"Oh. Should I move? …I don't wanna move, can I stay?"

Colette blushed a bit. "S-sure."

Flonne cheered happily while looking herself over. "That was the best meal I've ever eaten!" She gave her tummy a happy pat, causing it to wobble from side to side, tossing some icing off itself in the process.

"That was the BIGGEST meal I ever ate…I didn't even think that it was possible to eat so much…"

The door to the dining room opened as Game finally entered, wiping the last piece of an eggshell off of himself. He immediately went stiff, however, when he looked up and saw both the mess and its creators. "G-girls…what happened here?"

"Breakfast competition." explained Colette. "Um, come to think of it, who won, Flonne?"

Game blushed a bit. "Well, looking at you two, I'd have to say that Colette won."

Colette cheered while Flonne groaned. Meanwhile, Game's actions weren't going unnoticed by a certain pink hedgehog. 'W-why is he looking at them like that? And why isn't he looking for me?' she mentally inquired.

Game's blush deepened a bit as he went on. "You two must be really…full…want me to, um…" As he spoke, Amy's hands were slowly tightening into fists, thought they quickly relaxed as he finished, "Call some yoshis for you?"

Colette smiled brightly. "Oh yeah, I forgot about them! We can ride them to the chao garden!"

Game nodded. "Wouldn't want you exerting yourselves on a full stomach."

Amy was continuing to watch from the far side of the room, her mind still ranting away. 'H-he's just doing his job, right? Th-there's no need to get worked up, right? Right?'

"That would be so nice of you!" Colette replied to Game's remark.

Game pulled out a device and pushed a button on it. "They'll be here any second."

"Thank you! Um…" Colette paused, turning toward Flonne again. "Flonne? You're gonna have to get off me if we're going to the chao garden…"

The fallen angel smiled nervously. "Oh yeah, sorry! It's just so comfortable here."

'I bet it is…' thought Game as he took another look at Colette's stuffed belly.

The two girls worked their way to their feet as a pair of yoshis, different from the ones before, walked in. (I JUST took a bath!) the first complained upon seeing the girls.

(She looks delicious.) the second replied, licking its chops a little, but knowing better than to try and eat a guest.

The two angels quickly climbed on. "C'mon, Colette! I wanna see the cute chao!" called Flonne, anxious to get moving. Colette nodded and got onto the other yoshi, and the two headed out, Game finding himself unable to resist taking a good look at Flonne's oversized, bouncing rear as she went out the door.

By now, it was all Amy could do to not walk over and make use of her hammer…though she wasn't sure if it would be more effective to use it on Game, the angels…or both. 'WHY? Why is he looking at them like that? Those two shouldn't be going to the chao garden, they should be going to take baths…and maybe boxercise some…' Her mental rant was finally brought to a halt as Game turned back around and took note of her, walking over.

"Sorry about that Amy…I figured I should…do something…" he explained.

Amy quickly forced herself to calm down and smile. "U-um, it's ok!"

Game slowly took a look around. "They…sure ate a lot, huh?"

The female hedgehog looked ready to throw up. "P-please…don't say…that word right now…"

"Why? Wh-what's wrong?"

"I-I'm sorry, but…after everything I just saw…even the thought of food is…" She didn't finish, shivering hard.

"So…you don't like eating much?" asked Game, his eyes momentarily having a you-just-ran-over-my-puppy look to them.

"It's really not so much the eating itself, it's just…they ate like…well, to be frank, like pigs!"

"Oh. Well, th-that's fine, I guess they did make a little mess…"

"LITTLE mess?" a new voice inquired. Turning around, game saw that it was Steel, who was standing in the doorway, looking the room over. He finally stepped further in, to better survey the damage. "Just what the Heckran happened in here?"

Game chuckled nervously. "From what I understand, Colette and Flonne got into an eating competition."

Steel sweat-dropped. "This whole mess was made by just those two?"

Game pointed at the vat, which still had the hose attached to it, while getting closer to Steel so as to keep his voice down to prevent Amy from hearing. "I think THAT'S the real cause here. Remember? You put that there in case a guest were to come along and say 'I think I'll jam this hose in my mouth and see what happens'." After a long pause, he somewhat reluctantly added, "I apologize for calling that idea dumb…"

Steel took a look at the vat and smiled. "So it actually worked? …Go figure…" He took another quick look around. 'Huh, that's funny…Roll said she'd be here, and I don't see her…maybe I should go check on her again…' he thought to himself. "Well, I think I'm gonna go look for Roll, so I'll leave you two alone for now." He turned around and headed out the door, turning in the direction of Roll's room.

Game turned back to Amy. "Are you gonna be ok?" he asked, completing the thought he had started before Steel had walked in.

"I think so…I just don't wanna be around food right now…" replied Amy.

"W…well, let's just move on, ok?" he asked, his face having become a little pale at the concept of a girl that didn't want to eat.

"U-um…are you ok? You suddenly don't look so good yourself…"

"It's…" He paused to sigh before saying, "It's nothing."

'Then why did you sigh?' Amy asked within her mind. "Well, if you're sure…"

"You wanna do something, or…something…?" Game asked nervously, desperate to find a way to change the subject.

"Well, we already saw the chao garden…what else is there?"

Game began to think, trying to come up with something Amy might like that wouldn't lead to the topic of food. However, his thoughts were cut off as his watch began to vibrate, a small red LED inside it beginning to blink. With an annoyed sigh, he sadly stated, "I…I gotta go, Amy…"

Amy was clearly taken aback. "B-but…you just got here…"

"I-I know, I'm sorry…but I guess this is important, or something…" Game sighed yet again as he turned around and headed for the door.

As he left the room, It was all Amy could do to stop herself from bursting into tears. 'Was earlier…just some kind of mistake or something? Why is he leaving…?'

Meanwhile, back in the control room, the door was nearly ripped from its hinges as Steel flew through it on the warp star. "GREYMATTER! SHUT OFF THE PORTAL MACHINE, NOW!"

The Galvan quickly began to do so. "What's going on? I heard the alarm, but-"

"Just cut the portal's power, now!" Steel quickly took a seat at one of the terminals, beginning to type furiously. "Come on Game, where are you…?" he growled to himself as he worked. A few seconds later, Game drudged in, clearly not thinking about whatever the current crisis was. Glancing at his friend, Steel quickly asked, "What is with you?"

"Just…nothing, just…"

Steel cut him off. "Good, then. 'Cause someone's trying to steal the Chaos Emeralds!"

Game immediately snapped out of his bad mood. "Huh? B-but without them-"

Steel nodded. "Right. The portal's the only way out, so the thief's gotta come back here. I'm working on finding out who it is right now…"

Game scratched his head. "Well, who's got access to this sort of technology? I mean, the contract blocks magic, so it has to be tech."

Steel continued Game's thought. "AND it would have to be someone from a dimension WE already accessed…which kinda rules out anyone from Colette and Flonne's worlds, so it's gotta be from Roll or Amy's…" Steel suddenly cut himself off, a look coming over his face that seemed to say 'bingo!'.

"Dr. Wily?" asked Game.

"Come on, surely if I can get it, you can too. Amy's world, Chaos Emeralds, thief…"

Game's eyes widened. "You don't mean…?"

"Calling up bio. Rouge the Bat: a pick-pocket expert with an eye for all gems, the Chaos Emeralds are at the top of her list. She works for the secret services in Sonic's world…and has also worked with Eggman before…bet he coulda sent her here somehow…"

Game took a look at the image displayed for Rouge. "Well, if it's her, then I wouldn't be surprised if she's already figured out that we killed the portal…we should get looking."

"True. But we gotta be careful. She's a bat, which means she can fly, and she seems to have excellent climbing and digging abilities, according to this. I have the warp star, but what about you? If she tries flying…"

"I got it covered, ok? You check the upper levels, I'll search the lower ones, and Greymatter, if she comes in here, lock her in and call us, ok?"

The small alien nodded. "I also overwrote your passwords on the portal, so now only I know the one to reactivate it. And I'll stay deep in the machinery where she shouldn't be able to reach me."

"Good. Now get going!" exclaimed Game as he rushed out of the control room.

Steel quickly pulled out the warp star and rushed up into the hotel's higher levels, silently pondering to himself about where to look. "Let's see now…if I were a thief that knew my only exit was gone, I'd hide somewhere until I could escape later. So…where would be a place I likely wouldn't be found?" He paused as he came to a stop in front of door that was metal, as opposed to the wood doors located everywhere else. It had something of a vault door feel to it, and had four words engraved on the front: Power Room – Employees Only. "Yeah, seems like the best place to me."

He quickly opened the door and slid inside, looking around. The room was large, and circular shaped. Standing in a circle were seven pylons, one for each Chaos Emerald, and each of which was sparkling, despite the Emeralds being missing from them. Above where each Emerald was supposed to sit was an energy siphon, all of which had shut down. It was an automatic response to the Emeralds being removed, to ensure the machine wouldn't be damaged by trying to draw power from nothing.

Steel noted that the room was deadly quiet…that kind of deadly quiet where you could hear a pin hit the floor on the other side of the room without even trying. He quickly ran what he'd seen in the bio back through his mind. 'I'm gonna be up against a bat…she's probably able to see in the dark better than me right now, and her hearing's probably better than mine right now, too…' He pulled out his remote, activating a flashlight feature on it and beginning to look around.

From behind one of the pylons, a figure was inching its way into a better position for an attack. 'That's right, look the other way for just a second longer…' she thought as she prepared herself.

Steel deactivated the flashlight function, but readied a different one, his eyes moving to one side as though he were trying to look over his shoulder without turning his head. 'Who's the dumb one now?' he thought as he stood ready.

The figure took another look at her soon-to-be victim. 'I only get one shot at this, gotta make it count. …Ok…go!' In one quick, elegant move, the figure dove off the pylon and rushed Steel, gliding toward him effortlessly. But she was taken a bit aback as Steel quickly hopped to one side, causing her to miss. He flicked the remote, and a twisting beam of blue light snagged her by the foot.

"Gotcha, bat girl!" Steel declared happily.

"Sorry, but I like to play hard to get." replied Rouge, performing a roundhouse kick that tore the remote from Steel's grip, the beam disappearing in the process.

Quickly searching for a way to keep Rouge in his sights and also get the remote back, Steel smiled, and also secretly reached for his phone to send an alert to Game. "Interesting. Ya know…I kinda like girls that play that game. Maybe you'd like a little challenge?"

Rouge smiled naughtily. "I don't take you as the type to like threesomes."

"Oh, threesomes, eh? Would that be two boys or two girls?"

"Oh, I don't know, what do you like?" Before Steel could respond, she slipped into the shadows, now hidden from his view again.

'Where'd she go?' he thought as he quickly looked around, and took advantage of the time he now had to reach for his fallen remote, continuing to talk in the hopes of getting Rouge to reveal herself again. "Personally, I'd prefer two girls…though I kinda think all or most guys are that way…" As he begin to stand from retrieving the remote, he gave a slight cry of pain as Rouge swooped in and planted her foot in his backside, flipping off him. "So, I guess someone likes to play kinda rough, huh?"

Rouge batted her eyes almost playfully. "You know, I think it's just so sexy when a man overpowers me. Too bad I'm not gonna find that here, huh?"

"Ya know, I kinda think I could surprise you there. Maybe you'd like to give me a fair chance?"

"Why not?" the bat replied, shrugging as she stepped into the middle of the room, clearly not perceiving Steel to be of any threat to her.

"Really? I most defiantly must admit, it's really sexy the way you can handle yourself so confidently."

"Sorry sweetie, but it's too late to kiss up."

"Oh, I'm not kissing up. We both know we're after the same thing here in the end. I just like to give an opponent proper credit." Even as he spoke, Steel was slowly inching his way closer to her.

"Well, no amount of 'credit' is going to get these back, you understand?"

Steel ignored the remark, continuing his own train of thought as he slowly got closer to Rouge. "You know, I've heard about you before, Rouge the Bat. And there was always one thing I knew I'd ask if I ever got the chance to meet you…"

"Really?" asked Rouge in a tone that dripped of uninterest. "And what's that?"

"Why do you want the Chaos Emeralds so badly?"

Rouge scoffed. "Do I need a reason? Everything shiny in the world is MY property. It's as simple as that."

"Just thought I'd ask-" Steel cut himself off as he again flipped out the grapple beam from his remote, this time snagging her wrist and yanking her toward him. Rouge took advantage of the momentum to deliver a powerful drill kick, though Steel managed to hang on to the remote and pull her in again, grabbing both her wrists with his hands. "I really shoulda seen that coming…" he growled, referring to the drill kick.

Rouge smiled in her usual way. "So should've I. After all, EVERYONE wants to be close to little old me…"

Steel quickly twisted, forcing Rouge onto the floor on her back and getting above her, holding her down. Not even the slightest bit of worry or fear crossed her face, though. "So then, who else has had the honor of being this close to you?"

"That's none of your business. A lady never brags about that sort of thing." With a quick wink, she almost effortlessly managed to roll out from under Steel.

"Ok, enough of this already…" Holding his remote steady, Steel activated the beam sword function on it, the blue blade of light giving some extra illumination to the room.

"Aww, how cute. And what are you going to do with that, bore me to death?"

"No. It's quickly becoming clear to me that you're too good a fighter for the old 'pin and say uncle' routine, so I guess that means I'm gonna have to beat you up a little first."

"But you'll have to catch me!" Rouge pointed out, flying up onto one of the pylons.

"Let me guess, you think being up high is a problem for me." Steel grinned while pulling out the warp star again, hopping onto it.

Rouge sighed in annoyance. "So now you think you can fly better than me? Aren't we macho."

"I never claimed that. I'm just saying that flying doesn't take you out of my reach-range."

"Well then, prove it."

Steel paused for a second, then rushed Rouge at full speed. Unprepared for how quickly the star could move, Rouge took the hit, the star slamming into her midsection. Steel found himself momentarily distracted by the rather noticeable bounce this caused in Rouge's…'endowments'…but quickly shoved the thought aside. The bat landed at the base of the pylon, and Steel rushed in, ready to use his beam sword.

"Alright, you're a little better than I though…" Rouge admitted as she quickly readied herself for the next attack, nimbly ducking and jumping over the sword as Steel swung it. The whole time, she never broke eye contact with him.

"You're a bit better than I heard as well, it seems." Steel quickly pressed a button, combining the remote's sword and grapple functions to create a beam sword with a bending blade. This caught Rouge off-guard, nicking her cheek, though she didn't flinch.

Rouge gave another naughty grin. "I can go for hours." She quickly preformed a sweeping kick, trying to knock Steel off his feet. Steel easily jumped over her leg, pulling something out of his exclamation-mark-block backpack, and keeping it hidden. "More toys, huh?"

"Maybe…" Steel replied. Suddenly, his clothes changed colors, his shorts and vest becoming red and his shirt becoming white.

Rouge raised in eye in curiosity at how this was supposed to help her opponent. "Not bad, but I really think the blue was a more honest color for you."

"And my favorite, but you see, the thing is-" Steel cut himself off again as, with no warning, he slapped his hand against the exposed skin on Rouge's arm, releasing a fireball at point-blank range. Rouge screamed in pain and backed off, clearly having no idea that such an attack was coming. The wound looked to hurt a lot, as it was still smoking.

Steel had no intentions of stopping now, though. He quickly rushed her on the star again, swinging the sword like a baseball bat, making solid contact with Rouge's gut. She flew backwards into the wall, slamming into it HARD. She quickly got to her feet again, trying to recover from having the wind knocked out of her. Steel rushed her one final time, this time sliding off the star, standing on her toes and holding her wrists against the wall. "I wonder if anyone else ever got to see you like this…" he mused aloud, grinning a little.

"Nnng…n-never!" the bat girl shot back, trying to free herself from Steel's grips.

"Mind if I ask you something a tad personal?"

"W-what?" Rouge growled, staring into Steel's eyes with a look of defiance.

Steel leaned a tiny bit closer to her before asking his question. "Have you ever been kissed?"

Rouge's eyes widened by the tiniest bit for just a split second before she began to thrash in an attempt to get free. "Oh, you better not…!"

Steel was silent for a few seconds as he focused on not losing his grip on Rouge. "Oh, calm down. I was just kinda curious, that's all. And I don't think you can blame me, considering the way you were acting toward me."

"I'VE been acting toward you?" she exclaimed in disgust. "Don't…make…me…laugh!" In between each word, Rouge finally worked her way to freedom, first getting one foot out from under Steel's. She then planted said foot into his chin and kicked him away, quickly smiling in satisfaction, and noticing that his clothes had gone back to their usual colors. "My turn now, little boy."

She rushed toward Steel, who recovered in time to try and swing at her with his sword, but she easily jumped over it, landing just as his swing finished. She went for a roundhouse kick, surprised when Steel actually caught her leg, clinging tightly to it. Rouge lashed out with her other leg, making very solid contact with Steel's head, and yet, despite the pain it caused, he didn't release the leg he'd caught. "Nnn! Persistent, aren't we?" she stated angrily.

Steel didn't bother with a reply, instead lunging forward, causing Rouge to fall over. He fell on top of her legs, quickly adding the second to this grip and hugging them tightly, not wishing to have any more trouble from them. "Let…let go!" shouted Rouge, trying to twist her legs free.

"Not a chance! You seem to base all your attacks on kicks, so I won't give you that option!"

"And you base your attacks on this, so we're even." Rouge held up Steel's remote, which she had somehow managed to snag from him when she'd been pushed over. Steel was silently grateful that the sword function had deactivated. "So I guess we're not gonna get anywhere, now are we? Why don't you just let go of me, and I'll leave your little toy by the door as I'm leaving?"

"Sounds like you forgot that we're actually NOT even. You still have the Chaos Emeralds, too…"

"Exactly. And I'm going to keep having them, so why don't you just-" She cut herself off as Steel squeezed her legs hard. "Nnng! Alright, now I'm angry!" She wound up and chucked the remote at Steel's head, since she had no idea how to work it. But Steel didn't even flinch as the device bounced off his head.

"I guess I shoulda warned you that everyone around here says I'm practically famous for my hard head…"

Rouge noticed a shift in how Steel was holding her legs, and it almost felt like he was pulling on them. "Just what are you doing?" she demanded.

"Getting rid of your weapons. Say bye-bye to your boots!"

"Not if I can help it." She quickly rolled to one side, but Steel rolled along with her, not losing his hold on her this time. "Let…GO!"

"MAKE ME!" Steel shouted back, tugging hard on one her left boot. Rouge suddenly twisted her foot, losing both Steel and the boot all at once. "Well, I'll take one over none." Steel tossed the boot he'd claimed into his block backpack.

Rouge glared at him angrily. "Don't think you've won, I lead with my right anyway."

"True, but…" he paused long enough to recover his remote. "I think things are a bit more 'fair' now." Rouge stood her ground, continuing to glare. "Come on, no matter how much you want those Emeralds, I doubt you're interested in leaving with only one boot. Not to mention, after having you pinned against the wall earlier, I bet I could pass it off as you running away if you leave without beating me." He smirked a bit.

Rouge was silent, rubbing her cheek in the spot where she'd been nicked before. Steel took another look at the place on her arm where he'd hit her with the fireball, then went on. "And it might be hard for you to convince anyone otherwise…a nicked cheek, a burned arm, a missing boot…maybe I can even claim I DID kiss you."

"I…I'm not falling for it!" growled Rouge. "I know what you're trying to pull, and it's not going to work!"

Steel noted the sound of a familiar, goofy laugh from somewhere outside of the room before he continued. "Aww, is tough, intimidating Rouge SCARED of me?"

Rouge clenched both fists, her eyes looking ready to burst into flames. "…I…am going to shut that big mouth of yours PERMANTLY!" She quickly dove at Steel, gliding with her wings. But Steel was ready, and stepped to one side while reaching out and grabbing a wing, using it to force her into the ground. He then sat on her back, pinning her wrists to the ground.

"You were saying?" he asked, now much more sure of himself. From outside the room, he could hear a voice say 'C'mon, I don't have time for this, leggo!'. Rouge's ears perked up at the sound, she had heard as well. Steel was distracted for a split second, thinking about how cute Rouge's ears looked, but quickly shook it off, realizing he needed to keep her distracted. In a mocking sort of way, he asked, "What's wrong, Rouge? I thought you said you liked to be overpowered."

Rouge didn't even bother with a comeback, but shoved one of her wings into Steel's face, trying to get him to let go of her arms. But the result she got was not what she expected…with no hesitation, Steel opened wide and bit down on the wing. Her eyes flashed with pain and she shrieked, her voice so high-pitched as she did so that it was seriously hurting Steel's ears. She began to thrash like a bucking bronco, determined to get Steel off.

Suddenly, Game came bursting into the room, with Ed clinging to him. "Ed, get OFF! I have to he-"

He was interrupted as Ed got a look at Rouge. His eyes widened as he shouted, "THE MUTANT KEESE LORD OF SECTOR B-24 HAS INVADED!"

Rouge stopped her struggling long enough to look at Ed. "What did you just call me?"

"RELEASE HIM, EVIL ONE!" Ed charged, and Steel found himself getting hit with 120-odd pounds of lump at a good ten MPH. He went sliding to one side, hearing Rouge scream bloody murder. Spiting, he realized her problem…when Ed had hit him, he actually bit off the part of her wing that was in his mouth at the time.

Steel pulled out the remote, activating the sword again, and swinging at Rouge as she got up. She avoided the sword easy enough, but got plowed down again as Ed tackled her, apparently having every intention of assisting in the battle against the 'mutant keese lord'. Game popped the Bullet Bill blaster out of his block, beginning to circle-strafe around, watching for a good shot. As Rouge stood again, Steel gave her a blow from his sword, and she went down again as Ed jumped on her yet again.

'Ow, my ears are still ringing…wait…' Steel hit upon an idea at his thought. Meanwhile, with the strength of ten lumps, Ed seized Rouge by the wrists from behind and held her up. Steel quickly pulled out his yoshi-whistle while Rouge struggled against Ed.

"Let go, you thug!" she shouted.

"Never, wing-ed harpy of evil-ness!" insisted Ed.

Steel took as deep a breath as he could, then blew on his whistle with all his might. Rouge began to scream as though she were being killed, and in his surprise at her reaction, Ed released her. She stumbled forward a bit, covering her now slightly bleeding ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. "There!" shouted Game, firing his blaster. The Bullet Bill hit Rouge head-on, and quickly carried her over to the wall, smashing her into it as it exploded. She dropped to the ground like a rag doll, out cold.

Ed gave his trademark goofy smile. "The evil one has fallen! The age of noodles begins anew!" He began to dance around the room in his joy.

Steel and Game walked over to Rouge, Steel noting her injured wing. " I am NEVER gonna get the taste of that thing outta my mouth…"

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner." Game mentioned as he snagged the Emeralds from Rouge.

"Eh, I had some fun without you." Replied Steel as he almost ripped the other boot off Rouge's foot, tossing it into his block as well.

Game snickered. "I thought you were an F.A., not a foot fetishist." he teased.

"I think her boots are designed to make her kicks stronger, so I want them off her feet before she can wake up." He then quietly added, "Besides, who says you can't have more than one fetish?"

"Oh, remind me to get lumpy here a doggy treat or something, who knows what woulda happened without him."

"AMEN." replied Steel, shaking his head hard for some unknown reason. He then took a good, long look at Rouge. 'Now, what to do with you…'

Ed suddenly appeared next to him, also looking at Rouge. "I say we keep it as a pet! I always wanted an alien, but mommy said no."

Steel's eyes lit up a little. 'A pet, huh?' He turned to the brainless Ed-boy and smiled. "I think you may have something there, Ed. But you should really go find Eddy now, ok?"

"Am I a good alien hunter, Mr. Steel?"

"Yes, um, very good…in fact, why don't you go tell Kawasaki that I said to make you some buttered toast?"

"HOORAY!" Ed turned and skipped off, grinning wide.

Steel yanked Rouge's gloves off and threw them into his block. "Um, do you think I should frisk her? Wouldn't want any nasty surprises later."

Game looked at Steel, then at Rouge…namely, at her chest, then back at Steel. "We both know what you really mean by that…"

Steel grinned sheepishly. "But seriously, I don't want her pulling out a file or something and escaping…"

"I guess you're ri- wait…escaping?"

Steel grinned, a hint of evil in it. "This little devil gave me a hard time before you two showed up, I intend to return the 'favor'…"

Game gulped. "Steel…where are you going with this?"

Steel wasn't really paying attention, as he dug through his block and pulled out some chains. "These should work just fine."

"Steel!" exclaimed Game in an astonished tone. "We can't do this!"

"Who said anything about 'we'?" Steel asked, while pushing a button nearby that made a table of sorts rise from under a hidden panel in the floor.

Game switched to a firm and serious tone. "Steel, we're taking the bat back where she came from. It's not right to hold her against her will. I mean, we're not the police."

Steel scooped Rouge up and set her on the table before answering Game. "Oh, my bad, I'll just get some police…oh wait, that's right, there aren't any in this dimension. Look, if she got in here on her own once, she can do it again, so just sending her back won't solve anything."

Game could feel his list of available arguments get severely shortened by the undeniable fact Steel had just pointed out. "Well, all I know is that I wouldn't like it if someone strapped me down and did fetishy stuff to me."

Steel rolled his eyes. "Bite me. Look, she deserves to be shaken up a little…you weren't here to see how the first part of that fight went down."

Game growled. "Fine…but I'm checking on her, ok? And you'd better not hurt her."

"Deal. But I'm gonna use locks only I can undo, mostly to keep you from letting her up too soon. I don't wanna have to fight her like that again."

Game went on. "You also have to pay for potions to treat her. If you're gonna hold her captive, you're at least gonna be humane about it."

"I intended to do that…especially her wing, that was an honest accident…"

"…Can't you at least let her walk around the room?"

Steel nearly fell in surprise. "Um, did you forget that this is the Emerald room? If she's allowed to move freely in here, she'll try to take them again. I'll let her up once I know she'll leave them alone."

Game silently thought everything over. 'I feel awful about this, but…if we ever reach the point where she 'leaves the Emeralds alone', that means she's over her gem obsession, so…it's a GOOD thing, right?'

Steel spread Rouge's arms to the side and began to chain down her limbs, one by one. Afterward, he pulled out a clean rag and began to clean the bit of blood away from her ears. "I've got this under control, so why don't you go talk with Amy or something?"

Game set the last Emerald in place. "I guess. I mean, she did seem a little…off…when I had to rush up here, anyway…"

Steel nodded. "Go on, champ, this little devil ain't goin' nowhere." Game slowly headed out of them room, shaking a little as he did his best to not think about what sort of things Steel might have in mind for the jewel thief.

What DOES Steel have in mind for Rouge? And what's going to happen between Amy and Game now? Find out...next chapter!


End file.
